Collection of One Shots - 2016 reboot!
by MacLover722
Summary: Basically a collection of whatever comes to my mind that involves mainly Mac whump, angst and h/c, as well as lots and lots of bromance. Latest story: Ch 20-No Shit Sherlock! Every one shot will have its own summary inside, so step in and see if you like what you read. Reated T for some violence, language and to be safe. Warnings apply when necessary. Prompts appreciated!
1. Jack's Appartment

**So: first MacGyver fic EVER! I hope you like it.**

 **Summary: (WARNING: spoilers!) this is a scene that came to me after Thorton was arrested. In that episode we found out that Nikki wasn't actually a traitor but a deep CIA covert agent. I think that, no matter the reason, she still lied to Mac and she still broke his heart. This is just a little scene covering the aftermath of that episode. I guess you could call it a tag. You can expect lots of angst and hurt/comfort because that0s what I like to do.**

 **CHAPTER 1: Jack's apartment (one shot)**

Jack couldn't help but notice the hunted look on his young partner's eyes as they drove away from the Phoenix Foundation towards the blond's house. What bothered him the most wasn't the silence, since they had spent hours sitting right next to each other on plane or car rides and had been perfectly content with enjoying the companionable silence; granted, it wasn't the norm for them, but it also wasn't all that uncommon, especially after a hard mission. What was making every alarm bell inside his brain go off was the way Mac sat perfectly still, with his left arm resting on his lap and his right elbow propped up against the window, a fisted hand supporting his chin and a faraway yet hunted look in his eyes. His breathing was normal, even and steady, and so unnervingly calm that Jack couldn't help but thinking that his thoughts were anything but. And, yeah, that was a contradiction that only someone who knew Angus MacGyver as well as he did could ever pick up on.

If the kid had been happy or simply content, he would have been fidgeting with something, whatever, in his hands; building something out of paperclips or just using his hands to gesticulate throughout a conversation, for which his breathing would be just a tiny bit faster, as if he had been doing some light exercise.

If the kid was angry, his breathing would be more pronounced with the effort of trying to keep his anger at bay, since he wasn't a guy to explode or let his temper get the better of him (that's what Jack was for, sometimes).

If he had been hurt, or in pain (physical, that is) his breaths would be coming in short gasps or be completely erratical if the injury was that severe (Jack had witnessed a few of those times and just the memory of them sent chills down his spine).

But when the kid's breathing was this even, so unnervingly calm and collected then it could only mean one of two things: either the guy was asleep (truly immersed in a nightmare free restful sleep) or he had retreated into that big and seemingly endless brain of his to try and deal in his own way with another different kind of pain… emotional pain. And since MacGyver was very much awake, staring out of the passenger side window into the already dark sky, Jack could only assume that he was battling an internal storm that consisted on one terrifying gigantic hurricane which's name could only be Nikki's.

The moment he made the connections, he took the next turn and changed his destination. The fact that Mac didn't comment on it was enough to tell Jack that he had made the right decision. His best friend, his brother (and, sometimes, even a son) needed him and he was ready to give him the support he was sure the kid was going to need.

When Jack reached his own building and stopped the car to wait for the gate of the parking lot to open up completely, the young boy (because to Jack's eyes he would always be a young boy grown up too soon) noticed his surroundings, apparently for the first time, and turned to the side. Voice unusually low.

"I thought we were going to my house?" he asked, thinking that maybe, just maybe, he had misunderstood Jack when he said they were going home after leaving their work place.

"Change of plans" the older man stated as he moved the car forward to enter the building's parking lot and finding his designated space. As he parked the car, Mac eyed his partner quizzically, knowing that whenever Jack highjacked him to his apartment it usually indicated the older man wanted to fuss over him and his injuries. Except, this time, he didn't have any, so there was nothing for Jack to fuss about.

Jack chose to ignore him when he asked the reason behind the change of plans, instead making his way to the elevator and expecting his partner to just follow. Which he did, still wondering what this was all about. Maybe it was Jack who had gotten hurt during the mission and had failed to mention it (which would be awfully unfair from him since he was always at the ready to give MacGyver the dressing down whenever _he_ failed to mention an injury, no matter how small). But thinking back on the past few days, he couldn't recall either him or Sarah getting seriously hurt, other than a few scrapes from running away from-

And then it hit him… Sarah.

Jack must have been feeling pretty down, given that he never got around to tell her how he really felt and she was going to get married within the next couple of days. Maybe his partner needed his presence to feel better. Maybe he just didn't want to be alone. Mac was okay with that, though; even if he wasn't in the best state of mind (because he knew just how messed up he himself was feeling inside) he would never deny Jack the comfort he sought. Jack was his best friend, his brother (even, sometimes, a father) and he would push past his own emotional turmoil to help Jack overcome his.

That's why he silently followed him into the elevator even when he got no reply to his previous question. When they reached the fifth floor, though, he couldn't help but ask as Jack unlocked the door to his apartment.

"Are you okay Jack?" not completely disregarding the possibility of him being injured "Is this about Sarah?" he realized he might have been a little bit blunt with his question when he saw Jack's expression; but what the blond mistook for a wince was actually surprise showing on the other man's face.

"Sarah? What-?" he finally opened the door and stepped inside, turning to let his partner in "No, it's not about Sarah" Jack wasn't going to deny that running into her again and working together right before she's supposed to get married wasn't a low blow to his emotions; but the thought hadn't even crossed his mind again when he had picked up on Mac's behavior.

"Then what's going on? I thought you were taking me home" Mac stated, walking right past Jack and into the apartment; an apartment he was all too familiar with, as was Jack with his own home. Jack didn't exactly know how to bring up the subject, since he really didn't want Mac to feel cornered and bolt from his sights.

"I thought you might want to hang here for tonight" he answered, walking over to the fridge and pulling out a cold beer; the only kind of beverage that always greeted him when he got back home.

"Why would I want that?" even Mac flinched at how rude and uncharacteristically that question sounded and maybe, just then, a spark of understanding lit up in his brain about what his partner had been implying. But only maybe "I mean, there's no particular reason why I would want to spend the night here. Not that I don't like it" he hurried to add "It's just that, what's the occasion?" Jack decided not to feel slightly offended by the harsh question, given how he knew Mac was starting to build up his defensive walls.

"I think that this past couple of days can be considered a special occasion" was his kind of (maybe not so) vague reply. He picked up a second bottle from the fridge and offered it to his partner, who (again, uncharacteristically) refused. This time, with a hint of annoyance in his voice, Mac asked.

"What are we doing here Jack?" okay, maybe not annoyance but anger; just slightly though "Neither of us is injured and if this isn't about Sarah, just what the hell is it about?" Mac knew, he knew, he might have been overreacting, but something about being tricked into coming here wasn't sitting well with him, not this time. Again, there was a small voice in the back of his head that told him this overreaction might have something to do with Jack bringing them to his apartment, but he ignored it, for now.

"Come one kiddo. You know this hasn't been a normal mission, even from the start" Jack decided to back down a bit, seeing how Mac was starting to get angry and knowing (from experience) that anger was the first step for Mac to admit that he was feeling bad, on the inside "so I thought there would be nothing wrong with hanging here for tonight. Grab a beer, maybe call for some pizza and just… decompress"

"You could have just asked me instead of kidnapping me" Mac replied, still with an angry tone. For a second there, Jack thought his partner was cracking a joke, about the whole kidnaping thing, but the look on the younger man's face was every bit as hard as it had been the minute before. Frowning in confusion, he took in the way Mac's body was tight and tense, his posture rigid and his front angled slightly towards the front door. He hadn't come close to the kitchen counter and hadn't shed his jacket yet. The posture screamed at him more that any words ever could: he wanted to go, he wanted to get out of there. In the past, whenever Mac walked through that door, he had been comfortable enough to show himself at his weakest and most vulnerable. He could be tense, yes; stressed, tired, hurt, but never closed off, not here, not in Jack's house. This was the only place he felt safe enough to let his guard down, not even getting that feeling a hundred percent in his own house. Jack knew that, Mac knew that… they both knew that even though the matter had never been openly discussed. So why was Mac feeling like he didn't want to be there? Why did he want to leave?

Realizing for the first time how serious whatever was going on with his friend was, Jack placed the almost full beer bottle he had been nursing in the counter and took a step towards Mac, a look or hurt actually reaching his features when the kid took a step back, away from him.

"Mac" he said, now somewhat uncertainly "What's going on?" now Mac was beginning to feel trapped. He knew what he had done, he had stepped away from his partner when he had taken a step forward. He had instinctively stepped away from the one person that meant security and love on an unconditional level and, for the love of him, he couldn't quite understand why. It had never happened before. Whatever he was feeling right now had never happened before.

Jack noticed the change in his partner's breathing the minute the kid had realized what he had done. Instead of the silent, almost calculated breaths he had been taking ever since leaving the Phoenix Foundation, louder more ragged breaths were making their way out of the young man and Jack knew they were the tale-tale signs of his partner starting to feel another pretty strong and unmistakable emotion: panic. Before he could decide between taking another step or keeping his distance to keep talking to the boy, MacGyver broke the silence with a question that was asked with a slightly higher than normal pitch to his normally deep voice. It was a tone of voice that made the hairs at the back of his head stand on end because it made the younger man sound like the twelve-year old kid who had just been abandoned by his father.

"Why didn't you just ask me Jack?" the hunted look on MacGyver's eyes turned even worse and he took another step backwards even though Jack hadn't moved again.

"I thought you wouldn't mind" Jack replied softly, trying to show the kid he wasn't getting altered by the situation. Trying to remain calm enough to inspire some confidence in him, a confidence he usually didn't have to work up since it always just happened by being together in the same room. Not this time though.

"You thought I wouldn't mind you lying to me!?" Mac asked, raising his voice a bit, not because he wanted to yell (well, not exactly) but because he was starting to run out of air and he couldn't bring himself to take a deep breath, which was making the trapped feeling be worse by the second. Jack was stunned by that statement and was getting worried about how frantic Mac's breathing had become. If he didn't slow down now, he would soon start to hyperventilate.

"What do you mean lie to you? I didn't lie to you" he said, again, keeping a firm hold on his composure even though his heart was racing inside on his chest. Mac brought a hand up to run it through his hair a few times before answering.

"You said we were going home and then you brought us here. You didn't ask if I wanted to come, you just decided for me" he had backed away enough now that his back hit the wall directly behind him and Jack actually took a few steps forward now that the distance between them had become too great.

"I technically didn't lie" Jack tried to use some logic to break through the state of panic his brother was caught up in "This is your home too, remember?" and it was, they both knew it was. But, somehow, Mac was blowing this out of proportion "come on kid, what's eating at you?" Mac brought his eyes down to the floor before speaking, now with real anger in his voice.

"I'm not a kid!" he yelled, bending down and putting his hands on his knees to try to catch his breath because he was starting to get dizzy "I'm not- You can't- Keep- I'm not- a-" Jack couldn't take it anymore. Mac was gasping for air and was starting to slide down the wall. The older man reached for him before he could fall to the ground and gently helped him easy the rest of the way down, glad that he hadn't flinched away from him or anything like that.

"Mac. Mac! You need to slow down. Take deep breaths" Mac had brought his knees close to his chest and had his elbows resting on them while he clutched at his hair with his hands and kept breathing like he couldn't get enough oxygen into his lungs "Mac, listen to me buddy: you need to calm down. You're gonna pass out if you keep this up" but the younger man didn't acknowledge him. Instead, he started muttering.

"You lied… you lied to me… everyone does… everyone did… she lied to me… she always lied to me…now you lied…and Thorton lied…you lied to me… you lied to me" he kept repeating that over and over again, still fighting for every breath and Jack could swear his heart shattered into a million pieces right there.

"Oh buddy. I didn't lie to you, I would never lie to you" now Jack knew where Mac was coming from. He never realized his decision to go to his apartment would result in Mac breaking; it had been an honest mistake, but now he knew what his partner must have been thinking when they were inside the car. This must have been why he was retreating into himself. The last couple of days (actually, the last couple of months) had finally caught up to him and Jack taking yet another decision out of the kid's hands (even if it was something as trivial as where they would spend the night) had MacGyver reliving all the lies and deception thrown his way ever since finding out that Nikki hadn't died that dreadful night on Italy. Jack rubbed a hand up and down his face, making sure to erase all traces of moisture that could have turned up the moment Mac accused him, sounding so broken, of having lied to him, of having broken their trust "I'm sorry Mac. I didn't mean to blindside you into coming here if you didn't want to. I honestly thought you would be okay with spending the night here. You always do" he wanted to get that settled before he continued into more dangerous territory "now, please, you have to calm down. You need to take a deep breath and release it slowly" through Jack's inner reflection, Mac had still been struggling to breath and, at some point, he had closed his eyes; which is why Jack put a hand on his shoulder while with the other one he grabbed the kid's chin and brought it up a little higher "look at me Mac. Hey! Come on buddy, look at me" when he finally did, his eyes were troubled, his pupils blown wide and his brow was furrowed as if he was in pain "Now you listen to me carefully, I would never intentionally lie to you. Mac, no matter what other people do, I'm the one who never lies to you. You know that. No matter what, no matter when and no matter why, I never lie to you" his gaze was so focused and it held so much intensity that the blond had no other choice than to believe him, so ever so slowly, he began to slow down his breathing and to come out of his panic induced state. A glimmer of recognition settled over his face as he took in his surroundings and when his eyes finally settled back on Jack, his eyes started to well with unshed tears.

"I'm sorry" he blurted out, voice tight with trying to keep the tears at bay but failing miserably when they started to fall one right after the other "I'm sorry Jack, I'm sorry" one sob, the another and Jack reached to envelope the trembling figure into his arms. Heart-wrenching sobs were making their way out of the young blond, who had melted into the embrace, pressing his face against the older man's shoulder and grabbing the other man's shirt with tightly clenched fists "I'm sorry I stepped away. I'm sorry"

"Shh, shh… It's okay buddy, don't worry about that" Jack soothed, not caring that his t-shirt was already damp or that his back was protesting the hunched position on the floor. The only thing he cared about right now was the young (too young) boy crying his heart out right in front of him. Jack held on tighter and put a hand on the back of his partner's head, patting and waving his fingers through his hair in a motion that was meant to be comforting and fatherly, because this was one of the few times where the relationship between the two agents escalated from mere friendship or brotherhood to something else, something bigger. This was the time where Jack got to console the kid he never knew he wanted and Mac got to experience being taken care of by a father that would never abandon him.

After almost an hour, Mac began to reluctantly pull away. Not because he actually wanted to (he would stay like that for ever if he could) but because he knew Jack's back must have been killing him. Not that the other man would ever complain. And that, right there, was one of the perks of being in Jack's home. It was the only place where he wouldn't step out of a hug too quickly or try to keep his emotions in check. This was the one place where he could cry for days, or sleep, or do nothing or everything at once for days on end without feeling embarrassed or exposed. This was his safe heaven. Although, this time, he was feeling a bit of shame, not because he had cried or crumbled to the floor, and not because he had just had a panic attack, but because he had stepped away from Jack and he knew he must have hurt the man deeply by that.

"I'm really sorry about what I did Jack. Stepping away… I don't even know why I did it. I'm sorry" he said, not meeting his eyes and wiping away his face for the last remnants of his breakdown.

"I thought we had already covered that there's nothing to apologize for" Jack said lightly, making a small (if that) smile appear on the young flushed face in front of him "now, what do you say we get up from here? I don't know about you but my back is not very happy right now" he said, stretching to try and pop it. Mac winced and hurried to apologize for that.

"I'm-" but was cut off by Jack's pointed glare.

"What did I just say?" he asked, getting back to his feet and offering a hand to Mac.

"Right" the blond answered while accepting the help and getting to his feet as well.

"So, pepperoni or double cheese?" Jack asked, already reaching for his cellphone to place an order.

"Double cheese" Mac answered, although Jack had already known the answer. And, just like that, they went back to their usual routine of decompressing. There was need to hover over the incident that had just happened although Jack knew they weren't done talking for the night. He would eventually get his partner to confess everything that still had him somewhat withdrawn, but that could wait until after dinner. He was starving!

Once the pizza came and went, Mac finally accepted a bottle of almost frozen cold beer and sat on the couch nursing the bottle and staring at the tv that was playing a documentary on how industrial oil was produced. Jack wasn't a sucker for this kind of shows, but he knew Mac was, so he put up with it if it meant offering his partner a distraction from his own thoughts.

After maybe half an hour into the show, Jack was surprised by the kid breaking the silence.

"I just feel stupid" Mac stated, not taking his eyes off the television.

"Well that only says so much about the rest of us mortals, you know?" Jack half joked (half). Then, Mac turned to him, ready to let out what was bothering him so much.

"How could I have been so blind? To everything? How could I not notice that she was playing me?"

"I thought we discovered today that she wasn't really a traitor" Jack answered.

"Yet, she still played me. Traitor, CIA deep covert agent, it doesn't matter. What we had was a lie. Everything was a lie" he cleared his throat because he could feel it closing up but he definitely did not want to cry again. Not because he thought it would make him look weak (not much, anyway) but because he thought that, at this point, she didn't deserve it "I think I made a mistake Jack" that statement surprised him.

"Hey, she was the one playing tricks on you. On all of us for that matter. How come that be your mistake?" Mac shook his head.

"I mean, last night, at the hotel…" he left the rest of the phrase hanging, knowing Jack would get what he meant, a soft pink blush making its way towards his cheeks. Jack's too.

"Oh, well. You're not the first man to give into it with an ex and you won't be the last"

"That's the thing though. It didn't feel like 'giving into it with an ex'" he quoted "it felt normal, like nothing had ever happened and, for a moment, last night, I wanted things to go back to the way they were. But now… now I regret it because I feel like I let my guard down again and I just can't get her out of my head" he said, now actually feeling embarrassed at sounding like a teenage boy fussing about his first real heart break. Jack though (blessed, and caring Jack) he didn't joke about it. He took the matter seriously and offered his most sincere advise.

"I hear ya" he said "but maybe this is a step in the right direction to finally getting over her. What she did, it was bad, and it would be hard for anyone to get over it but you will kid. I know you will"

"I thought I told you I'm not a kid" MacGyver retorted back, without any real malice in his voice. Instead, a small (real) smile was tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Oh and here I was, thinking that gossiping about your love life was a dead giveaway" he joked (so much for blessed Jack). He found himself dodging a cushion and trying to maintain his serious (not really) expression. He couldn't help the grin that broke through his façade when he heard MacGyver laugh, getting up from the couch and asking him if he'd be okay with another beer to which, of course, Jack couldn't deny.

Eventually, the night dragged on and both agents said their goodnights before heading into their respective rooms (because the guestroom had totally been Mac's for some time now), not before Mac quickly strode towards the older man and, giving him a hug he had only reserved for his actual father when he had been still a part of his life during the first decade of his life, thanked him for always being there to pick up the pieces whenever he fell apart. If both men's eyes were a little watery after that, neither one commented about it. Not because they felt ashamed of it, but because no words were necessary. It was Jack's apartment after all; the one place where they could both just be themselves. It was a place that meat protection, security and unconditional love. It was home.

THE END – FINITO – TERMINADO

 **Geez! Was that too cheesy? I hope it wasn't but I have a feeling that it was. I've been thinking about writing MacGyver's fics for a while and this has been my very first shot at it, so please forgive me if the characters seem a bit OOC. I have a lot of ideas in my mind but, mostly I just write whatever I'm feeling at the moment to let out some steam. I'm not sure if I should make this a collection of one shots or if I should post every story I come up with separately. Every story would kind of be a one shot, so I'm inclining towards the first option.**

 **Since all I want is a mechanism for distracting myself, I am totally open to receiving ideas, requests and prompts from anyone so if you'd like to read something specific feel free to leave a review asking for something specific. I'm a sucker for Mac whump, angst and hurt/comfort as well as a sucker for Mac and Jack's bromance. If you'd like anything along those lines… well, you know what to do. If you don't anyone to know the prompt came from you, you can also PM me and I will be just happy to comply.**

 **Anyway, sorry for the long A/N and I hope you guys liked this chapter. Please let me know what you think of it with a review!**


	2. The Price of Freedom

**OMG! Thank you so much for the incredible response this fic had gotten! All the reviews were amazing and I can only hope to read some more when you tell me what you think of this new installment. I hope you like it!**

 **Summary: Mac and Riley get made on an undercover supposedly easy mission and now they have to rely on each other to survive since all communications were lost with their back up and it seems like they're on their own.**

 **CHAPTER 1: The Price or Freedom (One shot)**

"I'll ask you one more time miss Davis, who do you work for?" Riley turned towards Mac who, again, shook his head no, making it clear that he didn't want her to give them any information related to their place of work. Colton Green, head of a new but still very dangerous criminal organization that specialized in money laundry and drug distribution, had been asking the same question for the past couple of minutes, along with the one that demanded to know how much information they had of their organization. They had started making a name for themselves in the streets of Chicago a little over six months ago and had been picked up by the police radar when a war between two or three different drug distribution crews began fighting over their territories. The appearance of the Green family (that's what they called themselves) had messed with the balance and so things had escalated quickly from there.

Normally the police or even just the FBI could have been able to handle the situation but, as soon as they stepped foot into the game, the collateral damage of the war had gone from bad to unacceptably worse and so the Phoenix Foundation had been called. They were the guys that got to pick their way through a drug distribution crew without being detected; they were the ones that could manage to bring the whole organization down for good without any more innocent blood spilled on the streets.

Or at least that's what they thought. So much for picking their way in undetected.

The plan had been fairly simple: contact the group as a potential buyer of a great amount of product (meaning whatever kind of drugs they sold) and arrange a meeting. They had somehow come up with the idea of Riley and Mac being a recently married kind of wealthy couple, looking for ways to spend their money; they were big on parties and they were big on friends, so they wanted something good to keep their parties going for a long time and they had heard chatter on the street that this new crew was the one to go to if they wanted the best.

The thugs that met up with them on an empty parking lot had insisted on a face to face encounter with their boss, seeing as the amount of product they were 'buying' was considerable and, also, the money they would pay for it. At first Mac and Riley had seemed reluctant to follow the men's suggestion, only if to stay in character. After all, this had been the plan all along: purchase a good amount of product so the crew's boss, Colton Green, would want to take part personally in the exchange. Maybe Green would think he could rip the couple of for more money or maybe he always dealt with big transactions himself. Either way, Mac and Riley opted for doing what they were told and getting into the black SUV of the thugs.

They were on comms with Jack on the other side of the line, but they were in radio silence for the time being; they knew though, that Jack would have their backs. He always did.

Glancing towards Riley while they had been on their way to wherever they were going, he could see that she was worried, maybe even a little bit scared. Riley was a tough chick, actually she was as tough as they came, but it wasn't usual for her to step up into a mission like this. She had always been as safe as she could behind the screens of her computers on the inside of a van parked a few yards away from the real danger. That didn't always guaranteed her safety, and this actually wasn't the first time she had to 'act undercover' but it was obvious to all that she was still reluctant about it.  
Seeing as this would only add to their characters, because a 'high society' recently wedded wife was allowed to look uncomfortable between drug dealers and such, Mac reached out to grab her hand and give it a gentle squeeze, keeping their fingers intertwined and offering her a small reassuring smile; one she had returned, feeling grateful for Mac's presence.

When they had reached their destination, they entered a one-story house that had no neighbors close by. They had been in the SUV for some time now and realized that the Green family base of operations was somewhat on the edges of town. They were made to get off the vehicle and follow the men inside, not once being treated as prisoners (after all, they were clients) but making it clear who was in charge of the situation here. Eventually they had met up with Colton Green and after a few awkward pleasantries had been exchanged, they had gone down to business. Once the product had made an appearance, it was time for the money exchange.

One of Green's lackeys had brought up an open laptop (a pretty cool piece of technology, Riley thought) and set it on a nearby table. Mac was asked forward to enter his bank account and make the transaction, making Riley sigh with relief because things were about to be over soon. The Foundation had made up a program that alerted them when Mac introduced his 'bank account' data and that was the signal their backup (meaning Jack and just a few other agents) were waiting for to step into the scene and arrest Colton Green. Riley should've known something bad was always bound to happen.

The moment Mac touched the keyboard to start typing, the computer emitted an alarm that had every thug in the place tensing and changing their postures from slightly intimidating to downright predatory. Mac's eyes widened when a picture of him appeared on the screen and a heavily redacted file began to be 'unredacted' right before his eyes. He knew then that they had been made, and quickly took two steps back to reposition himself back at Riley's side.

"What's going on" he asked, looking directly into the smug face of Colton Green.

"My security system, of course" the man replied happily "when you put your fingers over the keyboard, a fingerprint recognition program started running and the computer detected some inconsistencies with your background story and your false identity" he walked over to the laptop and bent down to read at the information displayed on the screen "Angus MacGyver" a few snickers sounded around the room but Mac payed them no attention, he was used to people laughing at his uncommon name. Colton Green just kept reading the file "Dropped out of MIT, joined the military, became an EOD expert... Well that's quite a resume" the man exclaimed. Mac was startled that this people had access to such an information but, at the same time, he was glad that nothing related him to his time working with DXS or the Phoenix Foundation. No one was supposed to know they existed after all.

"And who may that one be?" he asked, pointing at Riley but seeing as neither of them made an effort to answer, Colton signaled to one of his thugs to get her so her fingerprints could be searched as well. Several guns were pointed at Mac to keep him from doing anything while Riley was forced to step forward and place her fingers over the keyboard. Her own file was immediately extracted and they could see what they all thought was her most recent picture: the one taken the day she went to prison.

Somehow it was good to know that their lives had ceased to exist the moment they both had joined the Foundation, Mac back when it was still DXS and Riley right when they had to change the name to Phoenix. What was really bothering them was how easily these guys had seemed to break apart the false identities that Phoenix had created for them for this very mission. They weren't naive, they knew a background check was a very distinct possibility and that's why a great effort was put into creating the identities and some digital support to back them up. The Foundation had done it before and the work had always been solid; so what gave them away now? What happened? Apparently, Riley decided she needed to know now.

"How did you do it?" she asked, her voice strong enough but a little high pitched which, to Mac, it meant she was finding the courage to speak up "How did you made us?"

"I work with one of the greatest hackers in the world and he designed my security system. Whenever I have to make a big sell, I make sure to run the check on every person that comes through that door. Your stories were good, I have to admit, but my guy is better. Nothing gets past his program"

"So what now? We call it a truce? Forget we were ever here and everyone gets to go home?" Mac asked, knowing what the answer would be but needing a way to say their distress word out loud so he could alert Jack that they had been made and were in trouble. He got his answer though as several men came closer to them and grabbed them by the arms, guiding them towards what could only be the kitchen of the house and forcing them to sit on a couple of chairs that were brought in as well.

"Now, Angus, is where you tell me who do you work for, since I already know who you are. Do you work for the FBI? They've tried sending people before but they always leave in body bags, so they should have known better. Why send an EOD guy and someone who's supposed to be in prison? What is this, a joint operation? Home land? NSA? Who sent you?" Mac knew there was no point in trying to deny that they were in fact sent by someone, but they would never find out from who, so he remained silent, staring down Colton with a cold stare. A stare that was met with a vicious fist to his left cheek, followed by a hard punch to the gut that made him gasp because all the air was driven from his lungs. The thug that had hit him was built like a brick wall and he could feel a pounding headache making its way to his head. Riley couldn't help the yelp that escaped her when she saw such sudden and intense violence directed towards her friend and fear flashed through her eyes when she saw Mac trying to catch his breath. Mac had said the distressing word a good five minutes ago so why wasn't Jack storming the place by now?

Her yelp had caught the attention of Colton, who eyed her curiously before stepping closer to her. Mac immediately tensed up at seeing him change his focus towards her.

"Now, I know you don't want to see your friend here getting hurt so why don't you just tell me who you work for and we can skip all this unnecessary drill" Riley, even through the fear that was evident in her eyes (at least for someone who knew her) snorted.

"And jump right to the moment where you kill us? No thanks" she said and Mac felt a surge of pride towards their most recent team member because she was definitely holding her own despite her lack of experience in this sort of thing. A glimmer of something dangerous passed between Colton's eyes and he signaled to someone off to his left to step forward.

"Search them" he ordered. They were patted down right where they were sitting and Mac's knife, along with both their comms were discovered. Colton held the comms in his hand once they were handed to them, and he smirked smugly "well, these aren't going to do you any good. The house is protected by a strong signal that renders useless any kind of bugging device, including comms" he finished, tossing the small pieces on the floor and stepping on them.

Well that explained why there was no backup coming to the rescue. Mac's call for help never made it through and he never had time to send the data he was supposed to introduce on the fake bank account page. Riley and Mac glanced at each other and a look of understanding passed between them: they were on their own.

Mac immediately started looking around, trying to come with a way to get them both out of there. He knew that Jack and the rest of the Phoenix agents had to be somewhere nearby, hopefully with the house on sight; it's just that they had orders not to engage unless the signal was given, and since both signals hadn't been able to work, he was just going to have to create another one. He knew he had to be careful though; there were at least a dozen men surrounding them, all armed to the teeth and although having shots fired would make a hell of a signal, he couldn't risk Riley or himself being shot. They were just too many and a lot of bullets could find their way into them in the time it took for the backup to get to them.

Right in that moment, Colton addressed Riley again, asking her the very same question he had the previous time and adding to it the one asking about how much whoever they worked for knew about him and his crew. Riley had looked at Mac and he had shaken his head. There was no way they could give them the information he was asking. It wasn't just that they wouldn't compromise the Foundation and that it was part of their jobs not to break under the circumstances; it was also that what Riley had commented earlier was every bit true: if they said anything now, they would just get killed afterwards.

Noticing that apparently neither of them was going to say anything when asked nicely (yeah, right!) and thinking Riley was more suited for breaking first, Colton decided to take things to a whole new level.

"This is your last chance of me playing nice. Tell me what I want or you're gonna be hearing your friend's screams in your sleep for the rest of your life" he threatened and Riley visibly paled but still remained silent. She knew Mac didn't want her to talk and she wouldn't break his trust. Jack must have realized by now that something was wrong, mustn't he?

The next thing Riley was aware of, was two strong men taking a hold of each of Mac arms and making him stand up from the chair, bringing him closer to the stoves. Another one had picked up a lighter from his pocket and was now turning up the gas to turn on the stove closest to the edge. The flames shone bright for a second before the man turned on the handle to control it and bring down the intensity to a medium size flame, its bluish color casting a low glow in the dark room. Mac understood what was about to happen and he could only hope Riley was strong enough to get through this.

On the other hand, Riley sat silently staring at the flames that were obviously going to be used by the bad guys against them (against Mac! Her brain supplied) and she couldn't help but feel slightly (immensely) terrified by the situation. Thinking back to the moment Mac and Jack had gotten her out of jail, she remembered thinking that she had gotten off easy, serving only two years of the long sentence and then getting out unexpectedly to be granted a job, a good pay check, a new apartment and friends. She knew things in life didn't come for free and they sure as hell did not come so easy; she had fooled herself into thinking that serving at least those two years after getting caught on purpose the first time she hacked the NSA was enough of a price, considering she had done it to save a life, her mom's life non-the-less. But apparently she had been wrong, those two years hadn't been enough, and everything good she had gotten out of it right after she was let out of jail didn't come for free; she could see it now. The price of her freedom came with being put into situations where she had to watch helplessly how some low level drug dealer tortured one of his best friends right in front of her to try and get some stupid information about himself.

Riley watched with horror and a nauseated feeling as Mac's left hand was lifted by the thug and brought closer inch by inch to the low but still very hot flame of the stove. Mac had begun to struggle, trying to yank his arm free, but as much a trained agent as he was, in a matter of sheer strength, he stood no chance against the men firmly holding into him.

"Who do you work for miss Davis?" Riley took a deep breath and swallowed hard. She said nothing.

Colton Green gave a nod to the man holding Mac's arm and he put his hand dangerously close to the flame. Mac had turned his hand into a fist with the effort of yanking it away, and when his hand was pushed forward, he began to feel the heat warming up his skin. They weren't holding his hand close enough to burn him, yet, but it was definitely an uncomfortable feeling. He looked to his right where a few items rested on the kitchen counter and his eyes found the object that would allow him to create a signal strong enough to reach Jack. His idea was really simple and he had no doubt it would work, the only problem was to get to the object right now.

His attention was snapped back to his current condition when suddenly the uncomfortable warm feeling on his fist started to become really painful now that his hand had been guided closer to the flame. He was trying with all his might not to scream, because he didn't want to add to Riley's suffering any more than he already was, but he couldn't help the pained grunt at feeling the heat begin to scorch his skin. His efforts to get free doubled because he knew he wasn't going to be able to hold back the scream much longer, and he scrunched his eyes shut when another grunt made itself known.

"Who do you work for?" Colton asked again, and Mac opened his eyes to give Riley a pointed glare: _do not say anything!_ He seemed to say.

Now Mac's hand was put directly on top of the flame, not touching it but close enough to make the smell of burning flesh appear in the air. The skin over his fist couldn't take any more heat and so, reflexively, he opened his hand while still trying to get away. The pain was all-consuming now and it only seemed to be getting worse by the second. Riley saw his forehead furrowed in pain and his eyes clenched shut, a silent scream visible in the way he forced his mouth closed, only managing to keep his mandible from opening but showing his teeth either way. A fine layer of sweat had already settled over the skin on his whole body and his struggled to get free had turned frantic. When his hand was held so close to the flame for a complete set of twenty seconds, he actually screamed.

It wasn't a long scream, but it was a pained one and Riley herself let out a yell, asking the thugs to stop hurting her friend. After five more seconds, his hand was guided back and Mac sagged a little into the man holding him on his other side, breathing heavily and trembling from head to toe. The skin of his left hand was red and some blisters where already starting to appear in his palm. He moaned when Colton took his hand to lift it, bringing it closer for Riley to see and she had to look away before her stomach decided to rebel right then and there. She eventually found Mac's somewhat pain-glazed eyes and had to fought the urge to actually yell at _him_ for the small smile he sent her way.

Mac didn't have the energy to struggle anymore as he was carried over to the stoves again and the thug began to push his left hand forward again.

Or so they all thought.

Once he was close enough to the kitchen counter, he stepped on the foot of the man holding him from the right and when his grip on him slacked, he drove his elbow back into the other man's ribs. When he felt his right arm free, he turned around and sent the strongest right hook towards the guy on his left, dropping him to the floor. Before anyone else could recover, he lunged for the lighter so carelessly placed next to the stoves, dropped it right into the flamed and then turned on the handle of all the other stoves to release the gas at maximum power. He immediately jumped back, knocking Riley's chair to the floor and staying on top of her to cover her from the explosion that would take place in three… two…one…

BOOM!

The explosion wasn't so much big as it was startling but it had provided him with the signal he needed as the window directly on top of the stoves blew outward and a wall of bright red orange flames rose up for a second before the big momentum died down, and the few things resting on the kitchen counter began to catch fire.

Not even ten seconds after that, the front and back door of the house were thrown open and agents all dressed in black, along with Jack, came into the room to begin taking everyone down.

Riley and Mac had crawled out of the way, Mac keeping his body over Riley's to protect her from any bullet that might reach them in the short gun fight that followed the house being breached. Soon though, all sound of shots being fired died down and every single thug was either dead or being apprehended right now. Colton Green was the first to be escorted out in a pair of handcuffs. Jack started walking towards his teammates that were making their way up from the floor when he heard Mac cry out.

"Mac!" Riley said and that made Jack all but run the rest of the distance to them.

"I'm good… I'm good" Mac repeated with a tight voice laced with pain and cradling his left hand close to his body. Apparently he had begun to get up pushing himself from the floor with his hands, only to be reminded of his injury the moment he put any weight on the burnt hand.

"What the hell happened to you?" asked Jack upon reaching them "And what happened to the distress word or the coded data? I don't remember agreeing to you blowing up the house to get us to come in" he kept saying, knowing that the small controlled explosion he had seen could only be Mac's work. The young agent chose to ignore him as Riley helped him off the floor, leaving any explanations for her to give.

"Obviously, things didn't go as planned old man" she spat, still feeling disgusted with what she had to witness and holding on to Mac to try and help him now that she actually could "Are you really okay?" she asked him.

"Don't worry" he answered "I'm fine" ' _bullshit_ ' she wanted to call, but remained silent.

"So what happened to you?" Jack asked again, now getting really concerned about his pale and sweaty partner "What's with the hand?"

"This?" asked Mac, lifting his hand up a bit and then wincing with the movement "didn't you get the memo? There was MacGyver on the menu for tonight" he joked and Jack relaxed just a bit. The hand looked awful, yes, and it must have been incredibly painful, but Mac had taken worse than that and if he was good enough to make jokes, that meant the situation wasn't actually that bad. That didn't mean he wasn't going to make a stop at the hospital on the way home, even if he had to drag the younger man pulling him by his feet.

"How can you make a joke out of that?" Riley asked, somewhat angrily. They had walked out of the house by then and Mac and Jack turned around to see a very distraught Riley staring at them with disbelief in her eyes "you could have been burnt to death for all I know!"

"I wasn't going to be burnt to death by a stove" Mac said, but sobered up more at seeing the look on Riley's face. She had been pretty shaken up by what had gone down there and he shouldn't be taking that so lightly "I'm sorry you had to watch that Riley" he said sincerely, and then added "you were very brave in there"

"And a whole lot of good that did you" she snorted, now crossing her arms in front of her chest and staring pointedly at the ground.

"This wasn't your fault Riley" Jack was quick to intervene "this kind of things happen in this kind of job"

"Well it sucks!" she argued, her voice breaking a little at the end, which made her also lift up her head to look at the night sky to keep the water suddenly appearing in her eyes from falling down.

"Can't argue with that" Jack answered back and then Mac came closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She stubbornly did not look at him, but it was alright; Mac only needed her to listen.

"Riley, you couldn't have done anything different. You did your job and didn't give them any information despite what they were doing to me. By remaining silent you kept us alive long enough for back up to arrive. The mission was completed and we're all okay"

"But your hand-"

"Will heal" he interrupted her "and it will actually save me from clean up duty at the house for a while. Bozer will have to wash all the dishes by himself and suddenly I feel like having a barbeque every night"

This time, Riley actually laughed, relieved that apparently Mac would be fine and that he wasn't mad at her or anything like that.

When they began walking to the car that would take them back home, and during the entire ride to the airfield plus the plane ride home, Riley thought that the price of her freedom had been high, yes, but listening to her friend's constant and totally normal chitchat and banter and laughing alongside them whenever Mac got to outsmart Jack in coming up with insults or jabs to his pride, she couldn't deny that it was a price she would be willing to pay again if it meant spending more time around the people that were starting to become like family to her.

Yes… even Jack (which she would deny 'till the end of times).

THE END – FINITO – TERMINADO

 **I know I said to some of your that I would be updating earlier today, but this fic just got out of my hands. I had originally planned to make this no more than a 2.000 word one shot, but it ended up being just a bit over 4.000. It had also ended very differently than what I first had in mind but I have to say: I liked the result, and I can only hope you like it too.**

 **I know there wasn't too much bromance on this chapter, but suddenly I felt the need to write something related to Riley. I really like her and the kind of friendship she could develop with Mac. I don't envision anything romantic ever happening between them, but I think they could be really good friends.**

 **Of course, what this story couldn't miss was some Mac whump, so I hope you guys liked it.**

 **Do you have any prompts for me? Anything specific you would like to read? I would appreciate some ideas! Feel free to PM me or leave a prompt in a review!**


	3. What an Attitude

**I couldn't help myself today and just had to write another chapter of this fic. This one's the first story I've ever made with a prompt, so thanks to Mutilated Pancake for the idea. I hope this is what you had in mind and that you like it!**

 **Summary: Mac starts to feel ill after a training session at Phoenix and Jack, as always, is there to take care of him. Although taking care of a sick Mac can prove to be a very difficult task, even for someone as trained in all things MacGyver as Jack was.**

 **CHAPTER 3: What an Attitude**

Jack and Mac circled around each other as they tried to assess the other's next move, Jack having to sidestep when Mac lunged forward, getting into the offense.

They had been training for about an hour, sparring and coming up with new defensive moves invented by them because that's what they liked to do best: create their own moves so when they were out in the field and got caught in a situation where they had to fight their way in or out of a place, they could surprise their opponents by bringing into the table moves that were out of the ordinary, not exactly military style but not your regular free combat style either. They liked to call them their 'MacDalton moves' (Riley laughed every time she heard the stupid name).

They were both sweaty and out of breath by now, and knew that it would be time to wrap up their training session soon. Always loving to be the winner of their training matches, Jack made a series of controlled attacks that ended up with a fist driven into Mac's stomach. Even though he had been pulling his punches, since there was no sense in actually hurting each other during training, Mac doubled over and let out a cough and a laugh at the same time because Jack was doing his winning dance around him. He would have kept laughing though, if a coughing fit hadn't made him double over even more and then fall to the floor a bit dazed by the momentarily lack of oxygen. By the time he finished, his lungs burned with the effort and his throat felt dry and irritated. Jack stopped immediately and went over to him in confusion.

"You okay there, bud?" he asked and then joked "come on, I didn't hit you that hard…" and then he frowned "did I?" Mac looked up with a casual grin on his face after he was able to draw in a proper breath.

"No, you didn't" he assured his friend and then took the offered hand to get up from the floor.

"Then why did it sound like there was an explosion every time you coughed?" Jack asked, furrowing his brow and looking for the sings that he would have probably noticed during the day if he had payed enough attention. He knew his partner well, and if his gut was correct (it hadn't been wrong so far in his life… well, not much) the younger man might be coming down with a bug or something.

"It's nothing. My throat's been itching a bit all day but I'm fine" Mac tried to play it cool, afraid his partner would switch to mother-hen-mode the moment he suspected something was wrong with him. He had to admit that he hadn't been feeling so well since he woke up that morning. He had been really cold throughout the night and had woken up with a slight throat ache whenever he swallowed. He had opted for drinking a cup of hot tea with honey and the soreness had gone down considerably, enough for him to forget about it almost after breakfast. Later in the day though, while he had been working with Bozer on the lab, a headache had made itself known, making his eyes hurt every time he moved them too much or too fast. Again, he had let it slide because it hadn't bothered him for work and it had completely disappeared right before joining Jack at the training gym.

"Why don't we hit the showers and call it a day, huh?" Jack asked, already getting rid of the protective gear around his fists.

"But we haven't even made it to an hour yet" Mac complained "really, Jack, I'm fine" and he truly felt fine, not at his top, but fine enough.

"And it's been a good almost hour after actual working hours so… time to head out" he began to walk towards the showers, not making sure his partner was behind him because he didn't want to overwhelm the younger man with his concern over him (not yet anyway).

He took his sweet time letting the warm water wash away the tenseness of his muscles and then changing back to his work clothes, stashing away in his bag the shorts and t-shirt he had been wearing while sparring with Mac, speaking of whom, was still working his way around the gym, letting out some steam with a punching bag and looking more flustered than he had when he had been fighting with Jack.

"And here I thought you would, for once, listen to the voice of reason in this team" he stated, coming closer to his partner and crossing his arms in front of him. He didn't like what he saw; in the maybe (totally over it) 15 minutes it had taken him to shower and change, Mac had worked himself hard, now sporting a slightly deep frown on his forehead, and thicker layer of sweat over his body and breathing heavily with exertion.

"I do listen to you" Mac protested "you wanted me to work on my left hook, so I am" he finished, going back to his work out.

"Mac, you're not feeling well. There's no sense in exhausting yourself out of stubbornness. You admit you're not feeling great and let's just go"

"But I feel fine Jack" Mac answered back, now with a hint of annoyance in his voice. Jack had already put on his papa-bear suit.

"Uh-huh… You forget I know you kiddo" Jack said, narrowing his eyes "on a level from one to ten, how's the headache"

"I don't have a-" Mac started, only to be interrupted by his partner.

"What level?" the man insisted and Mac let out a frustrated sigh, resigned to not being able to avoid the other man's fussing.

"Four" he conceded.

"Which means eight"

"Right"

"Right" Jack repeated, an unspoken agreement settling over the two agents. Mac sighed again and threw away the protective gear before heading to the showers. Jack mentally patted himself because this one had been a pretty easy win, considering other times when he and Mac had gone into full blown out arguments about him not feeling his best.

He wasn't sure why, but the young blond had something against acknowledging having come down with the flu or catching a cold. While it was hell to try and get him to take care of himself whenever he was injured in the field, it was downright torture getting him to take it easy for a couple of days if he got sick with something simple like a cold. Simple, but not at all comfortable or pleasant. He had made it a life mission to find out why that was, but so far he hadn't gotten the answer.

Eventually Mac came out of the showers with dry clothes and his bag hanging from the shoulder. Now he looked pale, but at least the sweat was gone.

"Better?" Jack asked with a grin, falling back into step with his partner as he had passed right over him towards the door.

"Nothing to feel better from" Mac retorted back and his crankiness was what let Jack know he was actually feeling worse.

"Alright then" Jack exclaimed while picking up his phone from his pocket.

"What are you doing?" Mac asked, not trusting his partner not to call an ambulance if he thought Mac wasn't feeling great. He _had_ done it before after all.

"Calling Bozer. You know his chicken soup is a miracle come true, but the thing takes more than two hours to be made, so he better starts on it now" Jack explained calmly before talking to Bozer on the phone, who was already at home, having left the building at a more decent hour. Mac opted for just rolling his eyes at the man, regretting it instantly when the movement sent spikes of pain to his brain but failing to acknowledge it in favor of keeping his partner out of the loop. If he was lucky enough, he could convince both him and Bozer that whatever he had wasn't serious ad so he could be left alone to suffer in silence in the privacy of his own room. He couldn't keep denying that he felt like crap now, especially after his body had relaxed from the workout and the adrenaline of the exercise had died down, but he hated it whenever he got sick with such a passion that he just didn't want to have to deal with anybody, not even Jack.

Being an expert (barely graduated) at reading his partner's mood, Jack kept his thoughts to himself during the car ride to Mac's place. It was one thing to fuss and let out his concerns whenever they were dealing with a physical, work related injury; but a completely different one when Jack had to deal with a sick Mac. Now _that_ entailed a whole other level of approach.

On his part, Mac was tapping his fingers impatiently on his leg while bouncing the other one up and down with rapid movements. He couldn't wait to get home and lock himself up in his bedroom. In the back of his mind, he knew why he hated getting sick, but it was something he preferred to ignore if he could (which he not always could).

By the time they made it to the house, Jack knew his partner had started to run a fever. Fine tremors ran through his body now and then and his eyes looked red rimmed with exhaustion a general ill feeling. Jack let Mac get out of the car and head inside the house on his own, knowing he was still strong enough to make it and wanting to leave the confrontation that would sure be taking place between them for later. Mac would want to shut himself off from the world, but this time Jack would not let him. He was going to get to the bottom of his partner's antics about being sick today, and that was a mission he was not going to be backing down from any time soon.

"Jack, man!" Bozer greeted him as the pair made its way into the house "you could've warned me earlier about the soup bro, you know how much time it takes to be ready! What's Mac gonna eat in the mean time?"

"I can just have a sandwich, I don't need the soup Boze" Mac answered instead of Jack, bypassing them all and heading to his room.

"Soooooo should I make the soup?" Bozer asked.

"No" "YES!" both Mac and Jack answered at the same time, but Bozer decided to just do it in case Mac changed his mind. A lot could happen in two and a half hours.

Jack then ran to one of the kitchen cabinets and grabbed a bottle of Tylenol plus a glass of water. When he made it to Mac's room, he found that the other man had already changed clothes and was wearing a set of long sweat pants and an oversized hoodie, his feet were also covered by thick socks.

"Dude, aren't you gonna be hot?" he asked, his concern spiking up because the night was actually warm, as they often were in California.

"I'm not hot" Jack decided to let the teasing joke that had already started to form in his mind slide for tonight because if Mac wasn't feeling hot, that meant he was feeling cold (which he wouldn't acknowledge out loud) and that could only mean his fever must have been going up.

"Here… I brought you some Tylenol. Take a couple of pills and lay down for a while" he said, placing the water bottle and the medicine on the bedside table "I'll come get you when the food is ready. Unless you actually want a sandwich?"

"I'm actually not gonna eat anything. I'm not hungry" Mac said, totally ignoring the recently brought pills and laying down on his bed, pulling the covers over himself as he curled in on his side.

"I don't think so, buddy. You need to eat something and you know Bozer's soup will cure whatever bug you managed to catch. I'll just come get you when it's done" he decided and then added "and just take a couple of Tylenol, you're running a fever" he finished, coming closer to Mac and placing a hand over his forehead, wincing at how hot it felt to the touch. Mac angrily swatted his hand away and sent a glare his way.

"I'm fine, I'm just gonna sleep so if you don't mind, close the door when you get out" he said none too gently.

"Alright, that's it. Why do you get like this whenever you're sick?"

"Like what? I don't get like anything"

"Oh yeah" Jack snorted "you do. You get all angry and cranky and act like a freaking rebellious teenager. Nobody likes to get sick but you definitely take it to the next level" he finished, glad that at least the confrontation had started after Mac had laid down in bed. His energy would soon be leaving him drained and Jack was glad the kid was right where he should be. This wasn't the first time he took care of a sick Mac, so he knew how the cycle worked for his young partner. This was just the first time he actually confronted him about his attitude towards the situation. Everyone got sick every once in a while, it wasn't such a big deal.

"Whatever Jack, just please let me sleep and go home" Mac said, proving Jack right about the whole acting like a rebellious teenager thing when he turned roughly to his other side, giving his back to Jack.

"I'm not going anywhere. You know it's my job to look after you" (actually, more than a job) Jack thought to himself.

"In the field, not here" Mac replied, his voice a little subdued by the tiredness he was feeling.

"It's my job anywhere. Whether you're shot or sick" Jack insisted, not wanting his partner to close off now; he still hadn't answered his question. When no other words were forth coming from the blond, Jack got closer to the bed "Mac?" he called, only to jump back in surprise as Mac suddenly turned around with fire in his eyes and yelled at him the answer he had so desperately wanted to know.

"It's not your job to take care of me when I'm sick Jack! It was hers!" and that was all he was capable of saying before his body swayed dangerously at the edge of the bed, forcing Jack to step up and place a hand on the kid's shoulders to keep him from falling over to the floor.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy there…" he said, gently pushing Mac back towards the pillow and setting the back of his hand against his forehead again to feel for his temperature; it was higher. Mac moaned when another wave of dizziness struck him and he turned on his side to clench at his stomach and close his eyes tight, his breathing quick and fast. Jack, of course, didn't miss this "You gonna be sick?" he asked. Mac nodded just in time for Jack to yell at Bozer to bring a bucket to the room, glad to notice Bozer already making his way through the door and placing the bucket by Mac's side of the bed. Immediately Mac leaned over the edge and started dry heaving, feeling every muscle on his abdomen contract painfully and then tasting the disgusting bile in his mouth before emptying his already more than empty stomach into the bowl.

Jack kept a hand on his forehead to keep him from falling out of bed, given how the kid's energy was totally spent by now and just coaxed him through the worst of the painful dry heaves by rubbing a hand up and down his back. He instructed Bozer to go get some ice chips and both a dry and a slightly damp towel. He made it back in record time, dropping the contents of his errand by Jack's side and then stepping out of the room to give the two men some privacy but staying within earshot in case they needed something else.

Back in the room, Mac seemed to be over his throwing up and gladly took the bottle of water Jack picked from the bed side table, taking a few sips to rinse his mouth and spitting the filthy water into the bucket before actually swallowing a couple of sips.

"Easy there" Jack warned, reaching for the bottle "you don't want to get sick again, do you?" Mac didn't answer, just dropped the rest of the way to the bed again and wiped his damp forehead. Jack could see the misery in those baby blue eyes, and he couldn't help the instinctive gesture of reaching to push some blond locks away from his face. They were sticky with sweat, as was most of his skin, and Jack noticed that his fever wasn't coming down at all. He reached for the pills then "would you take these now?" he asked, dropping two pills into his palm and offering the water bottle again. This time, Mac did as instructed without arguing "there you go" he said, and Mac decided in that moment to look away "you should have some ice chips too, they will help" at hearing those words, Mac's eyes began to burn and he, again, turned on his side to give his back to Jack.

"I'm better now, please go" he pleaded, his voice tight and hoarse.

"What is it Mac?" Jack asked, having seen the dampness creep into the younger man's eyes before he had turned away. The younger man didn't answer and Jack had to heavy a sigh, back to the rebellious teen attitude it was. Which reminded him… "What do you mean it was her job to take care of you? Who are you talking about?" thinking that Mac would opt for remaining silent, he was surprised to receive an answer without having to fight for it harder.

"My mom" came the broken reply and now Jack could see everything under a different light "I hate being sick because it reminds me of when my mom would take care of me. Every time she would be by my side, giving me ice chips and controlling the fever. She would cook her special vegetable soup and read to me for hours. She always gave me a new box of paperclips because I would spend two days in bed with nothing else to do. Every time she did that, until she didn't anymore" he finished, feeling a few tears escape his eyes but wiping at them quickly and then taking a shuddering breath. He closed his eyes and felt Jack's hand rest on his shoulder, this time relishing the comforting feeling it gave him.

Jack understood now why Mac always acted the way he did whenever he got sick. Getting sick made you feel vulnerable, whether you wanted it or not, and even the toughest of guys longed for their mothers whenever they felt down. Having had that privilege taken away from him when he was so young had made him completely hate the times he got sick afterwards because now there was no one to take care of the poor kid, especially after his father had bailed.

Jack would never attempt to take either his mother's or father's place (even if sometimes Mac did feel like a son to him), but he made sure Mac understood that it was okay to feel the way he did and that, even though his mother was no longer with him, it didn't mean there weren't other people available to take care of him when he needed it.

Mac spent the better part of his days worrying about other people and saving thousands of people's lives, sometimes all at once, and not once did he put himself before them. Not once did he consider himself first. Jack needed Mac to understand that it was okay to let other people take care of him for a change, that it didn't make him look weak and it definitely didn't make him look like a child. It just made him look human, like they all were.

By the end of the night, Jack hadn't gotten a verbal response from the young man, but he had considered it a win when he had eventually turned back towards him and had let Jack help him through his headache by caressing his forehead with gentle fingers. He had visibly relaxed and the older man was also able to wipe the sweat of his face with the dry towel Bozer had brought in earlier, and then refresh his skin using the damp one. About fifteen minutes later, he could tell Mac had finally fallen asleep.

An hour later he checked Mac's temperature, pleased to see that the Tylenol had worked to bring his fever down and that he didn't seem to be as cold anymore. He pulled back the covers to keep the kid from getting too hot again and then left the room with the door ajar. He would leave his friend to rest for now and then, when he woke up, he would make him eat an entire bowl of Bozer's chicken soup. He wasn't going to fuss over him like he usually did, but he also would remain close by, making sure Mac ha understood he didn't have to go through being sick alone. He may have had to do that for a while, but now he had friends like Riley, Bozer and him, to remind him to take care of himself as well as he liked to take care of others.

THE END – FINITO – TERMINADO

 **I'm not sure about the ending… didn't quite know how to wrap up the story but, hopefully, it wasn't so bad…**

 **Any thoughts? I really hope you guys enjoyed it!**


	4. The Expert (Part 1)

**Hi! I'm sorry it has taken so many days to update this fic with a new chapter but I've been kind of busy. This new chapter is gonna be a two-part thing and since part 1 is ready, I wanted to post it to give you guys something new to read. I promise I'm working on part 2 right now so hopefully tonight or tomorrow it will be up. In the mean-time, I would love to see what your guy's think of this one.**

 **Also, I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed, favorited or are now following me or the story. It's amazing to see that so many people like this. I hope you like this chapter as well.**

 **Summary: one possible case-scenario of how Mac and Jack met (I know, crappy short summary)**

 **CHAPTER 4: The Expert (part 1)**

"Our target is most likely located somewhere in the east wing of the place. That's where the cells are, according to our lookout" Jack Dalton informed his Delta team and then instructed, "we go in blowing a whole directly into that side of the compound and make our way through there until we find him. Best case scenario, he's being held near our improvised entrance; worst case, we have to search the whole damn place to find him while fighting off armed rebels along the way. We can't fail this mission, apparently this EOD guy holds very important information and the more time he spends with them…" he left the rest of the sentence unsaid because they all knew that not everyone could withstand the kind of methods the rebels used to get the information they wanted and their target had been taken about a week ago so, either the man would break soon, or he would die.

Jack took his position as point of the group to infiltrate the rebel's compound. Luckily it wasn't a big one, so they were hopeful they could succeed in retrieving their man without too much complications, and yeah, the team considered him their man because he was part of the military, he was part of the people that had decided to fight for their country and even though none of them had met the guy before, they were willing to do whatever it took to get him out of that hell hole.

And a hell hole it was. The moment they blew their own entrance through the side east wall, they were submerged into a hot as hell windowless successions of rooms, most of them empty and the ones occupied were met with resistance from the few rebels inside. Jack trusted his team to take care of them while he continued to navigate the place in search of their target. In the end, the best case scenario was flushed down the toilet and so he had to search almost the entire place to find him. He knew approximately what the guy was supposed to look like although he had never seen a photo. His C.O had told him he was young, blond and lean. Nothing much to go on with but enough to make a quick recognition, especially if no other prisoners were held there. He also knew the guy's name: Angus MacGyver. Strange name, but who was he to judge?

After clearing almost half the compound, he came to a door on his right where he could hear people talking in angry voices. He signaled to one of his men to come closer and they both breached the room with a single kick to the door. The only thing preventing Jack from freezing to the spot with the image that greeted him upon entering the room was the amount of years spent training for this very same thing.

Hanging in manacles from the ceiling was their target, and Jack recognized him instantly alright: young, blond and lean; although his surprise was soon replaced by rage when he noticed that what people called 'lean' he would actually describe as skinny, he supposed the hair color would have been accurate if blood and dirt hadn't been coating it but, the worst of all was that when Jack had imagined a young man in this situation, he had pictured someone not older than thirty maybe, but this guy looked barely twenty years old. He was breathing heavily and his face was scrunched up in pain, which made total sense since Jack has stepped into the room the moment one of the rebels drove a hard punch to the kid's ribs; ribs that, according the purple color of bruises coating the boy's torso, were probably already cracked if not broken.

He and his teammate immediately sprang into action, Jack tackling the rebel that had just hit the kid and his friend taking care of the other man in the room, the one who was holding a camera in his hands and Jack didn't even want to think about the kind of videos inside the seemingly harmless machine. He disposed of the rebel soon easily enough, leaving him knocked out on the floor and then turned back to the kid hanging from the roof. His eyes were open half-mast and his breathing was hitched and irregular.

"MacGyver?" Jack asked, already knowing the answer but wanting a way to start the conversation. The kid just nodded, swallowing hard after having tried to answer with his voice "Jack Dalton, we're gonna get you out of here buddy" he promised and then began fumbling with the manacles above the kid's head "you don't happen to know where the keys are, do you?" he had asked mostly because he wanted to kid to start talking at some point, his silence making him worry about him being hurt even worse than he could already see. He was shirtless so the bruises and abrasions on his chest and stomach were very prominent, he had dried blood covering a portion of his forehead, a split lip, a cut on one of his cheeks, bruises around his neck and fresh blood running down his arms from where the manacles continued to cut into his wrists. His cargo pants were torn and splattered with blood and his feet were bare. Right then another one of his team members came into the room and addressed him.

"Compound is secure but we should beat it before any more rebels show up" the man had eyed their target curiously but gave no other indication that the sight before him startled him.

"Roger that. Start making your way back out and we'll be right behind you" Jack said before bending down and searching the unconscious body of the rebel to try and find a key to free the boy. He did the same with the body of the rebel that had been holding the camera after telling his team mate that he could also start making his way out to secure the perimeter for the extraction, he would be at the door (the blown up whole in the wall) with their target in no time.

After they were left alone in the room, Jack began to get frustrated at not finding anything to help him get the kid down on the floor, until finally he heard a weak voice calling for him. He whirled around.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Somewhere… my swiss army knife… it's gotta be…" MacGyver panted, voice barely above a whisper. Jack finally found it thrown under a few rags on top of the only piece of furniture of the room, a wooden table filled with objects that could have only been used to inflict pain upon the young boy and a laptop running some kind of program. He shut the laptop down and decided to take it with them on their way out in case there was information in there that could prove useful in the future.

"Got it!" he exclaimed and went back to the boy.

"There's a pin" Jack found and extracted the pin from the object and started twisting it into the locks of the manacles but as much effort as he put into the task, the things wouldn't give. He had picked restraints before but these ones were proving to be especially difficult. He swore aloud when he dropped the pin after a particularly hard twist and bent down to retrieve it "let me try" MacGyver's weak voice came again. Jack looked at him as if he had lost his mind but after another request, Jack put the pin into the boy's hand, watching with disbelieve as he picked the lock almost effortlessly and his right arm fell from the roof to hang at his side. A pained grunt escaped the tightly sealed lips as his left shoulder was left to hold his whole weight (which wasn't much, Jack thought) and the blood started to flow through his right one. Despite of the pain, MacGyver lifted a shaking arm to again work with the pin, achieving his goal within the next seconds and almost falling to the floor. Jack had reached instinctively to prevent him from crashing to the ground, instead letting him sit gently to give him time to catch his breath, knowing that there wasn't that much time left on the clock to begin with.

"You okay kid?" Jack asked, knowing it was a stupid question but needing to ask it anyway. The blond just nodded, breathing deeply through his nose to get past the dizziness and nausea the sudden movements had caused. Despite how hot the place was, Jack noticed the kid trembling slightly and he was hunched in on himself. Deciding that one more minute of waiting wouldn't hurt them, he disposed of his tactical vest to take off his uniform jacket, staying only with his green t-shirt and handing the larger piece of clothing to the boy, putting his vest back on. He watched as MacGyver painfully slipped his arms through the jacket and then zipped it up all the way to his neck. It was way too big for him and it only made him look younger than he already was. To him, the kid didn't look much older than sixteen right now "Geez! How old are you kid?" he asked.

"I thought we were getting out of here?" MacGyver asked instead and Jack had no other choice than to focus on the task at hand, helping him off the floor and pulling one of his arms over his shoulders to help him walk all the way to the exit.

Their progress was slow, but Jack had to give credit to the kid, because he didn't complain once. Actually, no sound left his mouth and the only thing indicating how difficult the moving around must have been for him was his ragged breathing, one that, despite everything, he was making every effort to control.

Somehow Jack felt outraged at the ordeal this young boy had gone through and an overprotective feeling washed over him like it had never happened before. He decided he wanted to find out who this kid was and how, being so young, he had ended up being such an expert EOD. The description his C.O had given him of MacGyver had included a very high praise of his work and that kind of admiration wasn't something easy to get out of the tough man. Hell! It had taken Jack probably half this kid's life to earn his C.O's respect, let alone a simple compliment.

That alone told him this kid was something else. Although he would have to wait until they were safe and back on the base to fill out his curiosity. Right now, they needed to leave.

The pair made their way through the compound trusting that Jack's team had cleared the way of any other rebels, and they were making good progress, up until the moment they reached the exit hole and what they thought had been a clear operation ended up turning into a complete mess.

Jack and the kid had been the only ones left inside the place (of the good guys, that is) and one of Jack's men has been standing just outside the wall, waiting for them to arrive and ready to provide cover fire if necessary, but before they could completely reach their way out, the roof above them began to tremble, debris and dust reducing their visibility and forcing them to hunch in on themselves to avoid the bigger pieces of whatever the material was that were now falling like rain on top of them. Not longer after that, the light that filtered in through the hole in the wall was cut off abruptly as the structure gave away under the stress and all around them they could feel the rest of the building falling down like a house of cards. Jack instinctively thrown himself on top of the kid and tried to cover his own head with his hands. Not that it did much good, since the next thing he felt was a sharp pain at the back of his head and then everything turned black.

To Be Continued…

 **And that was part 1 of this two-part story. What did you guys think? I hope you enjoyed reading it since I haven't posted in a while. I'll keep working on part two now!**


	5. The Expert (Part 2)

**Here's part two of the previous chapter! Thank you so much for your response to the previous installment and, as promised, here's the continuation. A few warnings: mentions of torture and there is some violence in this chapter. Also, I'd like you to keep an open mind when reading about the scientific stuff Mac uses to get out of sticky situations because I have absolutely no knowledge in the matter.**

 **Summary: one possible case-scenario of how Mac and Jack met (part 2). What happened after Jack lost consciousness? How are they going to get out of that place?**

 **Also… longest chapter yet!**

 **CHAPTER 5: The Expert (Part 2)**

Awareness came back slowly. Jack could feel the oppressive heat from before increase by a tenfold and he had to cough when he tried to take a deep breath because the air was filled with dust and sand. He was glad to notice that his ribs didn't protest the movement, so no damage there. What did hurt him though, was his head. A lot. He had a pounding headache at the back of his head that made his vision blurry at best; the nausea he felt plus the dizziness when he made a first attempt at moving let him know he had a concussion, from mild to moderate, probably caused by whatever the hell had hit him when he had thrown himself over the boy to protect him from the falling debris. _The kid!_ Jack suddenly remembered and blamed his sluggishly concussed brain for not thinking about him first. That's when he noticed that he was actually facing up and there was no body underneath him.

He glanced around, unannounced fear getting a grip of his racing heart but the feeling was replaced by surprise when he saw MacGyver up and about it, moving around the fallen wall and studying the now non-existent hole. The kid still looked terrible: pale, sweaty and hunched over himself as if just breathing hurt his ribs, but he had a serious and determined look on his face.

Jack let out an involuntary groan when he turned to his side and the world tipped upside down, making the kid look back and take a few slow steps towards him.

"You shouldn't move too quickly" he stated, his voice still hoarse and low but at least he didn't sound like he was running out of air just by saying a few words.

"Yeah" Jack agreed "not my first rodeo" he said, referring to previous concussions gotten in the line of work "maybe you shouldn't be moving around so much either"

"I'm fine" was the reply he got before MacGyver returned to his previous task. Jack had managed to get to his knees without spilling his stomach's contents all over the floor, but had to use the wall for support when he made it all the way to his feet.

"What the hell happened?" Jack asked, observing the mess around him. As he had noticed before, the hole in the wall he and his team had used to enter the compound no longer existed since parts of the ceiling had collapsed into it, plus other parts of the wall and lots and lots of dirt. The compound hadn't been too big to begin with, but it was a two-story structure, at least on the east wing which is where they had previously made an entrance, meaning that even though part of the roof had fallen to cover their exit, they were still trapped inside the place.

"You blew a hole into the wall, that's what happened" MacGyver deadpanned with what only could be described as irritation "not the best option if you don't want the building to collapse" his voice was a combination of pain, honesty and annoyance. Jack couldn't believe this guy.

"Oh, excuse me! Next time you need someone to save your sorry ass we'll just take our time digging a tunnel through the floor" Jack new he sounded harsh, but the headache had multiplied since he had been standing up and he really wasn't in the mood to be lectured by a kid who had just gotten rescued by his team. Which, by the way, he needed to find; or, more likely, they needed to find _him_.

"You blew the hole too close to the ground instead of making it higher. You compromised the integrity of the wall and the whole thing collapsed by lack of support" MacGyver explained "if you didn't know how to properly use the explosives, the best option would've been using the front door" somehow, the way he talked made Jack feel stupid, as if he was being lectured by a school teacher.

"Using the front door meant everyone in town got a clear visual on us" Jack tried to defend his earlier decision, getting annoyed himself by the continued lecture on his actions.

"Like this isn't going to get their attention now" it wasn't meant as a jab, it was just the way he talked; but Jack didn't know that, he didn't know this kid or how his brain worked. Right now all he knew was the pounding headache threatening to split his brain open, and the fact that a freaking teenager was questioning his tactical choices.

"And since you're such an expert, what would you have done?" he asked bitterly.

"Well I _am_ the EOD expert, so I wouldn't have blown a whole that would compromise the integrity of the wall. Now we're left with no choice than to go through the front door and right into town"

"You know what-" but Jack's comeback was interrupted when they heard movement behind them, coming from one of the many rooms lining the side walls "get behind me" he ordered, reaching for the gun thankfully still strapped to his leg because is machine gun was nowhere to be seen. MacGyver did as he was told but reached down to get a hold of a piece of debris, clutching his ribs tightly when the pain threatened to overwhelm him. He knew he had broken ribs, and they hurt like hell, but he couldn't afford to pass out now.

He trailed along after Jack, who was nearing the closest room with the intent of clearing it when, out of nowhere, a rebel came crashing into him, sending him to the ground, stunned and dazed, and unable to defend himself momentarily from the punches thrown his way. Normally one person wouldn't even be considered a challenge for Jack Dalton, but in his current state, he was lucky if he could even focus his eyes enough to see where the next fist would hit him. Damn concussions! He had time to see the rebel pick up a heavy stone from the floor and lift it to put an end to his life when suddenly something slammed into the man, sending him away from Jack and stumbling a few feet away. The mass of dirty blond hair that had barreled into the rebel was now being thrown against the wall, a solid punch connecting to his stomach and another one to his already bruised face that sent him crashing down to the floor. The maneuver had given Jack enough time to recover his gun and fire two shots at the rebel; the first one hadn't come even close and Jack was grateful the kid was on the floor because he could've hit him with how off his vision was; but the second shot was accurate enough to drop the man for good. Jack struggled to his feet, spitting out blood from his busted lip and then bending over to finally give in to the nausea and throw up against the wall. He spit the last of the foul bile taste from his mouth and then knelt beside the kid, who had yet to get up from the floor.

When Jack saw him, all the anger he had felt towards him because of the discussion they were having earlier left him suddenly to be replaced by worry and maybe some pity. The kid was curled on his side, clutching his middle with both arms and breathing through tightly clenched teeth. Jack knew a thing or two about broken ribs and the word hell didn't even begin to describe how that felt.

When MacGyver felt a hand on his shoulder he jerked back, flinching away from the touch expecting another hit to find its mark and then groaned loudly when the movement jarred his already agonizing ribs. Believe it or not, this was the first time he had ever broken a rib. Bruised, sure; cracked, only one, and barely. But multiple broken ribs? It felt like whenever he breathed someone stabbed him with a long, sharp and hot as hell knife. Deep breaths were totally put of question, but even small breaths were painful and the lack of proper oxygen was making him dizzy all over again. He was afraid of the drowning feeling of not being able to draw a proper breath and he began to gasp as if he was actually sucking in his last couple of breaths.

"Hey, hey! Calm down kid!" Jack squeezed MacGyver's shoulder to try and give him an anchor to focus on "you need to relax your abdomen to draw deeper breaths. If you keep contracting it, you'll run out of room to fill with air and then you won't be able to breathe" MacGyver began to shake with the effort; suddenly it seemed impossible to relax the muscles of his abdomen but the more he hardened his muscles to be able to deal with the pain, the less air he seemed to get. It was as if his body had stopped responding him and he couldn't break the spell he was currently trapped in; until he felt another squeeze of his shoulder and soft, kinder words reached his ears "relax your stomach... Trust me"

And that did it. The kid opened his eyes and focused on the sweaty and bloody face above him. He recognized real worry in Jack's eyes but also an expression that seemed to encourage him all on its own. Ever so slowly MacGyver began to let go of the pressure he was applying to his abdominal muscles and also to untangle his arms from around himself. Low moans escaped his lips when the pressure over his ribs lifted, but he had to admit the pain was worth it when he could breathe again without feeling like he was drowning. The whole episode left him panting and shaking, but he was able to focus again until he drew a perfectly satisfying deep breath.

"There you go kid. Wasn't that hard, was it?" Jack joked, knowing exactly how hard it must have been. The kid snorted and replied.

"Mac" Jack looked at him confused and so he explained "It's Mac, not kid… Just Mac" Jack's face split up with a grin and he offered his hand for the kid (sorry, Mac) to help him to his feet.

"Well, that's definitely better than Angus" and for the first time, Mac didn't feel offended by the joke. He saw it for what it was, a peace offering for the time being, at least until they got out of there.

After some effort, Jack was able to pull Mac to his feet, supporting almost half of his weight until he was sure the kid (because to him he was still a kid) no longer looked like he was going to face plant on the floor. He needed to get in contact with his team, but he had lost his ear piece somewhere in this mess and now he had no way of communicating to them his new action route. Mac had already explained that trying to pry open the hole by lifting enough pieces for them to fit through would not only take too much time, but it would make the rest of the building on top of them even more unstable and the probability of them getting out before being squashed to dead was a 12%, he had actually calculated it. So the only way out was the only one he had never wanted to use: the front door. He had to assume that his team would realize this was their only option and would go around the compound providing as much cover as they could.

Jack hated the idea of navigating their way through the place again, because it was just his luck that the only other exist was on the opposite side of where they stood right now. Actually, the doors were close to the room he had found Mac in, and he was reminded yet again that the reason why they had never intended to use the easier way out was that the doors would lead them to the very heart of a small town in the freaking dessert plagued with unfriendlies and trigger-happy rebels. There were a lot of civilians too, and although they were far from friendly, they also were every bit as innocent as the civilians back home. He also had no doubt that after the ruckus they had caused inside the compound, the exit would soon be filling up with the wrong kind of reinforcements, if it wasn't already. He communicated his worries to his new acquittanced.

"We're gonna need a distraction. Or something to take them all out at once" Mac offered and Jack could see the wheels turning inside his brain, as if he was actually considering his option.

"With what? In case you haven't noticed, neither of us is in combat shape and we only have one half empty hand gun. So, unless you happen to have a few grenades stashed away…" when Mac's face split into a genuine smile (more like an excited grin), Jack thought the kid had lost it. Or he actually knew where to find grenades.

"No" Mac answered when Jack asked again "but I know what to do"

Mac led them back to the room he had been found in, both of them thankful that no other rebel inside the place arose, and immediately told Jack what he needed. While the older man had busied himself searching for the video camera that had been knocked away in the struggle, the younger one had stayed rooted to the stop, his eyes landing on a few blood stains on the floor directly beneath the manacled that still hanged from the roof, and he couldn't stop the shiver that ran through his spine. This was his blood, spilled in a godforsaken place where he had been tortured for days, beaten, water-boarded, choked, beaten again, taunted, played with, and countless other things that just remembering made his heart ache with some of what he had lost in this room… part of his soul to begin with.

He was startled out of his thoughts when Jack approached him waving the camera in front of him.

"You okay?" he asked simply.

"I didn't tell them anything, you know?" Mac said, as if he had needed someone to know that he hadn't broke. Jack wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"That's good" he said, mentally slapping himself for not being able to come up with something better than that. This was obviously a heavy burden for the younger man and, suddenly, a terrifying thought occurred him "has this happened to you before?"

"No" Mac almost whispered and rapidly averted his eyes from the stains on the floor "did you get it?" he asked, to change the subject. Jack lifted the camera again "perfect" the blond murmured and began to fiddle with the thing.

He obviously hadn't noticed Jack's features gone a bit paler than how they already were. The kid's confession had struck him hard. How was he still able to function somewhat properly after his first time being tortured? The kid had been stuck here for days… Jack didn't want to lose his focus now with worry for the kid's state of mind; he knew he couldn't run on fumes and adrenalin forever and now he felt the impending need to get the boy out of there and into a safe place before he crashed and he knew he was gonna crash at some point. Being tortured for the first time is not something to take lightly; he remembered how bad it had been after his first time and he vowed to be there for Mac whenever his body and his mind decided that he couldn't take it anymore.

"… bullet"

"What?" Jack hadn't heard what MacGyver had been saying, and he only caught the tail of the sentence.

"I said I need a bullet" Mac repeated, unaware of where the older man's thoughts had been just a second before.

"Right. Where do I shoot?" he drew his gun, ready to fire.

"No! No. I just need a bullet. A single unfired bullet" the kid rectified.

"What the hell for?" Jack asked, even as he opened the chamber of his gun and took out one of the bullets.

"For the bomb" Mac replied simply, as if the piece of knowledge was the most obvious thing in the world.

"A bomb! What bomb? Nobody said anything about a bomb!" Jack said, alarmed by the B-word being used so carelessly.

"The one I'm making. Chill out" the boy answered calmly, actually almost in a relaxed state, as he fidgeted with the camera, taking out its battery and a few other things Jack had no idea what to call "my knife?" Mac asked, requesting the object and taking it out of Jack's hands once he had fished it out of his pocket, glad he hadn't lost his hold on it like he had done with the laptop. He watched as Mac used the tool to crack open the bullet to be able to access the gun powder and an almost comical and totally uncalled image of a kid playing with fire had the hairs at the back of his head standing on end.

"Do you actually know what you're doing?" he asked. Making Mac look up at him with what could pass as a challenging gleam in his eyes.

"Who's the EOD expert, again?" Jack just rolled his eyes at him but didn't say anything else; the kid had a point after all. It was only a few more seconds before Mac discarded the unused items and began to stand up from the floor where he had been putting together the ones he did use.

"I'm done" he said but Jack had to reach forward to steady him when he swayed on his feet, again bringing an arm to his ribs to brace himself for the pain "I'm good. I'm fine" he said, with his teeth still clenched but determined to get out of there as soon as possible.

"What? With the bomb?" Jack asked incredulous "did you seriously turned a camera into a bomb?" when Mac nodded his head with an expression every bit as serious as the situation they were currently in, Jack decided to believe him "if you built a bomb, why aren't you throwing the bomb? Better yet, why are we not running away from the bomb?" and for the first time Mac noticed a slight accent in his words. Maybe this is how he sounded when he was nervous.

"It won't explode yet. I have to make the battery short circuit using one of the internal wires of the camera and a circuit card. When the wire creates a spark, the gun powder will ignite and-"

"You know what? Forget I asked" Jack said, eyeing the contents in Mac's hands still with a little bit of reluctance "I may not know how you did this but even I can tell it won't be a big explosion. Don't you need some kind of accelerant for that? I can't give you all my bullets" he said, glancing out of the room and spotting shadows getting closer to the front door, which was nearer to them that he had originally thought "we're gonna have company in less than a minute"

"There's gotta be gasoline somewhere near" Mac stated. Jack looked at him, his back already against the wall, prepared to make a stand if need be.

"How on earth is there gonna be gasoline in a place like this? If you based your whole plan on the hope of some-"

"There's gotta be gasoline somewhere inside this place" and just the way he said it, the coldness in his voice and the anger behind his eyes told Jack that Mac was sure of what he was saying. The older man suddenly understood that Mac's knowledge of the existence of said substance inside the place meant he had seen it for himself and Jack couldn't help his mind going over what could possibly had been done to the kid that required gasoline. He shuddered when the word 'burn' came to him, but quickly brushed it off.

"I'll find it" true to his word, he found a few buckets of the thing in the room across from theirs and Mac again got to work.

The gunshot made him jump so high that Mac almost dropped the bucket he was holding in his hands and he looked up to find Jack knelt by the door, his gun held tight in his rigid arms and pointing outside.

"You better hurry up kid. I don't have many bullets left and that warning shot isn't gonna keep them at bay" Mac finished the last touches of his work and nodded to Jack, who stood up from his position and signaled for Mac to get behind him.

Together they made their way to the front door, Jack having to fire his weapon two more times to avoid any unwelcome company before they could reach the exit. Once there, Jack saw how the kid somehow strapped his improvised bomb to the edge of the bucket filled with gasoline, thinking better of it when he began to ask how he had done it. If this worked and they got out of there alive, he would make sure to by the kid a beer whenever they found themselves in safer ground (if the kid was old enough to drink, that is).

"Okay. As soon as I connect this, throw it to the bunch of rebels to the right and run the hell away from the blast" MacGyver instructed.

"Hold our horses pal. How are you going to run out of here?" Jack asked, signaling to the kid's midsection.

"I'll make it" Mac replied, stubbornness coating his features and before Jack could signal any more flaws to his plan, Mac short-circuited the battery and gave the bucket to Jack, who was left with no other choice than to throw it to the again approaching band of rebels.

" _Son of a-!"_ Jack hissed before he grabbed Mac's arm and pulled him along for the run. He turned back a couple of times to fire one handed against the rebels still recovering from the explosion; an explosion, he had to admit, was impressive, considering where it had come from. He felt Mac stumble a bit but he managed to hold his ground while the two the them ran for their lives away from the building and towards the safety of a few trucks that provided cover from the return fire beginning to make its way towards them.

Luckily though, Jack spotted a member of his team crouched behind another truck and he had to smile in relief, knowing he had made the right call when he had told the kid they needed to go left because that's where his team would have gone if they had somehow been separated. There was something about working too long with a group of people that you began to think like they would, especially if they worked like the tight closed unit that they were. When his team began to lay cover fire, Jack turned his head to smile at his new friend, only to frown in concern when he found the kid covering his ears with his hands and with his eyes closed tightly. His breathing was forced and a sound between a moan and a grunt emanated from every time he tried to take a breath. The run from the compound to the trucks hadn't done him any good and he was beginning to fall to the side. Jack instantly cushioned his fall by easing him the rest of the way to the floor. He was aware of the gun fight taking place around them, and of Shaggy's voice screaming for them to move out, but right now his focus was solely on the gasping figure on the floor. Mac's eyes suddenly flew open when a coughing fit assaulted him and Jack's heart stuttered when a few droplets of blood splattered from his lips.

"I can't… breathe… I… Jack… I can't… can't…" the lack of oxygen and the blood could only mean one of the kid's broken ribs had punctured his lung and now he was choking with his own blood. All cation aside, Jack barked some orders to his team and then scooped the boy up into his arms, regretting the pain he knew he must have been causing him but desperate to hand the kid over to their field medic to patch him up during their retreat.

Once they made it to their tactical retreat point, they got into their getaway vehicle, Mac secured over the back seat between Jack and their field medic who was beginning to assess the damage on the boy. Mac had already lost consciousness and his lips were turning blue. The minute they were far enough from the compound and sure they weren't being chased (mostly because his team had considered rendering the trucks they had been hiding behind useless even before Mac and Jack had made their way out of the building), they came to a stop for Andy to perfume some field surgery and re-inflate Mac's collapsed lung.

When they were confident he wouldn't die on the road, the team moved on until they reached the base and transferred the kid from their vehicle to the gurney offered by the medical staff.

The kid had gone into proper surgery (as proper as you could get on an army base in the middle of the desert) and a few hours later, Jack found himself in what he would later recall as the first time his hair started to turn grey because of this young kid who he actually still knew nothing about but that had somehow managed to save his life twice when he was the one supposed to be rescued. He sat in a chair next to his bed, taking in the dark bruises all over the kid's face and neck, the rest not visible under the layers of bandages and the sheets of the gurney. Not for the first time he wondered what exactly had been done to him, but no one in the medical facility had wanted to share that information with him. He didn't have enough clearance and he was nothing to the boy, not family, not a friend, not even a teammate.

Jack rubbed a hand over his tired face, wincing a bit when his hands came into contact with a bump on his forehead. He sighed.

One hour later, MacGyver's eyes fluttered open. He must have been on the good stuff, because his return to consciousness was slow and uneventful. He turned his head to the right to find a pair of eyes settled upon him and a splitting grin broke over the older man's face.

"Hi there kid!" Jack greeted, genuinely happy that he had pulled through.

"Mac. It's Mac" he said as a way of answering. Sighing because for the first time in days, he felt relaxed enough to rest.

"That's right… Mac" Jack conceded. And then smiled again when he noticed the kid had gone back to sleep.

The soft content smile was lifted off his lips when he looked down to the object he had been fidgeting with in his hands. An SD memory card that had been recovered from the kid's clothing. Mac's doctor had given him his jacket back and he had found the memory card inside one of the pockets. Jack knew the object belonged to the camera Mac had taken apart to build his bomb. He could guess what the contents of the device were, and swallowed around a tight knot. Should he give this back to the kid? Would he even remember he had taken it? And, why would he have taken such a thing?

Jack could only imagine how the kid was going to deal with everything that had happened to him, but the more time he got to spend with him after his return to the world of the living, the more determined he was to stick around him and help anyway he could.

He wasn't exactly sure how or what, but what had first started as irritation towards the lecturing boy, had quickly turned into respect (probably due to the fact that he had built a bomb out of a freaking video camera) and he could now understand the words his C.O had told him about the boy.

MacGyver, he corrected himself.

Mac, actually.

Yeah… Mac… He liked it. It had a nice ring to it.

THE END – FINITO – TERMINADO

 **This chapter was kind of hard to write… whenever I thought I had finished, more things came out to be written! I hope this two-part thing was at least enjoyable and the way I envisioned Mac and Jack meeting in the first place was good enough.**

 **I apologize for any mistake or inaccuracy when describing correct military protocol or the scientific stuff Mac said or used to build his bomb. I am neither a scientist nor a soldier or anything of the sort so everything I said comes from my imagination and TV shows, plus some invented theories of my own. I hope it was believable at least.**

 **I was thinking about maybe making another chapter about this in the future? Like the moment Mac breaks down after digesting this was the first time he got tortured and Jack being there, like always to pick up the pieces? I don't know… let me know it you would like to read something like that.**

 **I would appreciate reviews and comments about your thoughts on this chapter so, beforehand, thanks!**


	6. Wheels up in

**First of all I would like to thank everyone for your reviews and kind comments. They really make my day and motivate me to write more and more chapters. I always try to respond to every review personally, but if I miss one, please forgive me. I'll try to do better.**

 **Now, since almost all of you asked for a continuation of the previous story, I promise I will work on it but I'm not sure when exactly I'll post it. Inspiration just has to strike me, exactly like it did today. The chapter you're about to read hadn't been planned, it was just a scene that came suddenly to my mind and that I felt I needed to get out there. This chapter is loosely based on experience, not directly related, but close to home, so it was actually a bittersweet thing to write. WARNINGS: this chapters contains mentions of torture, starvation and some adult themes. NOTHING graphic. Mostly, it's about hurt/comfort and angst (also, mostly Jack's angst for those of you Jack lovers out there. Don't worry, plenty of Mac angst as well).**

 **Summary: the team gets a new case but this one's a little too close to home, especially for Jack, who now has to deal with some painful memories of the past to be able to do his job. Mac, of course, will be by his side and maybe, together, they'll be able to overcome whatever memories this new case has seemed to stir.**

 **CHAPTER 6: Wheels up in…**

This case was just too close to home. Too close.

Mac glanced at Jack the moment the cause of death had been confirmed on the victim who's murderer they had to catch. The victim was one of their own. A young woman who had been deep into dismantling a human trafficking ring in the depths of Ukraine that specialized in snatching people from the US and sending them to Ukraine to be sold to the highest bidder.

The human trafficking thing wasn't what was sending alarm bells to Mac's brain, although the concept was terribly unhumanitarian, they were used to dealing with stuff like this, especially when it wasn't the first time they had to dismantle an international ring like this. It also wasn't the fact that the victim was an undercover Phoenix agent sent in more than a year and a half ago, back when Thornton was still their boss. Deep cover operations weren't uncommon in their line of work and the fact that it was one of their own made then angry and anxious; made them wanna finish this job as soon as possible; but, ultimately, it wasn't the cause of Mac's uneasy.

The cause of death... Now, _that_ was another issue.

Starvation. Their agent died of starvation.

Just how in the hell did that happen without anyone in their organization knowing about it? What happened with the agent's handler? With status reports? Intel gathering? There was never a record of their agent missing contact or check in calls. And Jack, voice tight and angry, wasn't going to let that crucial detail go.

"How the hell did this happen?"

"I can assure you Jack, a full investigation is being cooked up just as we speak. So far we know that Thornton was the one to order and direct the covert op, but every effort is being made to understand why there was never a follow up" Matty said, feeling every bit as shocked and angry as the rest of the team was.

"When do we leave?" asked Riley.

"Wheels up in an hour"

Mac followed Jack to the car and Jack started driving towards his apartment. They had plenty of time to pack a bag and prepare for the trip but, most of all, Jack needed a few minutes to calm down and get his head in the game. If they were going to succeed in this mission and bring the human trafficking ring down, he needed to be in his A game, and letting memories of the past resurface would only distract him and prevent him from doing his job.

"Jack, I-" Mac started to say, but was interrupted by a harsh almost (definitely) shout.

"No!" Jack exclaimed "we promised not to talk about it so let's not talk about it. This isn't just like Cairo"

"I know, but-" again, he wasn't able to finish his thoughts.

"But nothing! You know we tell people that Cairo was the worst and that we swore not to talk about Cairo, but you also know that's just us telling them that, so we can keep that other thing to ourselves. So don't break your promise and don't talk about it" Jack finished, a little flustered.

"Hey, you're the one talking about it. I wasn't even gonna mention the thing" Mac defended himself (yeah, big liar!)

"Damn it Mac!" Jack yelled, slamming his hand against the steering wheel and then clutching it with white knuckles for the rest of the drive.

Mac had the good sense to remain quiet after that. He would admit, only to himself, for now, that he had meant to bring up the subject; and not just a few moments ago, but several times in the past years, never actually bringing himself to go through with it because he knew the memories he felt he needed to put together would create a very painful and traumatizing picture. He could only imagine what being able to recall all of it must be doing to Jack's mind... And heart.

There was a reason why they celebrated Cairo day. Why, despite having promised not to talk about it, the subject always rose to the surface in the form of a joke or a threat. It helped to create the illusion for everyone else that Cairo had been indeed the worst thing that they'd had to face together as coworkers, until the point they hoped the illusion would rub off on them too. Make them forget.

But nothing would ever make them forget. Not to Mac (whose memory of the time was actually a bit faded and confused), and certainly not to Jack.

If only that had been like Cairo, Jack wouldn't be hurting on the inside so much as he was doing now. Because, no matter how tough Jack seemed (was) on the outside, Mac knew him better than anyone and he knew that Jack was having trouble digesting this new case. If he was honest with himself, so was he.

Eventually they made it to Jack's apartment and started to put a bag together with enough clothes to last them for at least a week. They surely hoped it wouldn't come to that, but being extra prepared had always paid off in the past. When Mac walked out of the guest room (his room), with his bag ready, filled with the clothes he had been accumulating in that room over the years, he found Jack sitting on the couch, staring ahead with a serious expression on his face. Mac decided he would give it another go at bringing up the subject and maybe, just maybe, this time he would succeed.

"Jack, are you okay?" he asked softly, leaning casually against the wall on the left side of the couch.

"Of course"

"I mean, are you okay enough for this mission?" Mac inquired and was met with Jack's hard stare.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Jack asked, his temper spiking up a bit.

"You know why" Mac replied, still reluctant to speak about the subject out loud "like you've told me before, you need to be on your A game for both of us to do our job right, and if this case is bringing up those memories, I need to know about it" he honestly didn't think there was a way to be subtle about this.

"I thought we agreed we wouldn't TALK ABOUT IT!" Jack ended up yelling, his eyes fixed on the floor now and his breathing heavy, trying to stay in control. Something about Jack's anger spiked Mac's own temper because he was really trying to approach the situation as carefully as possible, and it wasn't working; so maybe head on confrontation was what it would take to get this matter sorted out.

"Have you ever considered that maybe I need to talk about it?" he asked, his voice rising a bit to the quickly escalating conversation. Jack's head snapped up at that comment and something between pity and fear showed in his eyes.

"No, you don't" he stated.

"I think I should be the one to decide that" Mac countered.

"What you need is to let this go Mac. I can do my job and you need to focus on doing yours" Mac snorted.

"Says the man who's making a scene out of a simple conversation" he knew it was a low blow, but he would apologize later. Whatever was said now, inside this apartment, he could apologize for a million times later if it helped bring his partner's head into the game and keep him focused enough to not get distracted on the field and end up hurt or worse.

"I said I can do my job and I'm not making a scene" Jack answered back irritated.

"Then why won't you talk about it?" Mac insisted, which made Jack jump to his feet, unable to stay still anymore.

"BECAUSE I CAN'T!" he actually screamed this time, resorting to pace back and forth in front of the couch to refrain from hitting a wall "you don't understand Mac! Whenever I think about it... I... I..."

"Then this case _is_ rattling you" Mac stated calmly now, having worked his friend into admitting the fact.

"OF COURSE IT IS!" Jack said, passing a hand through his hair in a frustrated gesture.

"Well, it's rattled me too" Mac said softly, making his own admission and watching as some of the anger left Jack's eyes to be replaced again by the pity he had seen earlier.

"I know what you want Mac but please, please, trust me when I say you're better off without all the memories"

"You shouldn't have to carry their weight all on your own Jack. We're partners and I was there as much as you were"

"You think I don't know that? Mac, that was... That's been the one time I've truly come close to losing you. What happened there... You don't want to remember the whole story" Jack finished, his breath hitching at the end because his emotions were threatening to overwhelm him. But when Mac answered, that's when Jack thought his heart would break in a million pieces, because his voice sounded tight and low, exactly how it did when Mac was trying to fight back tears.

"It can't be worse than what I've imagined" he said, locking eyes with Jack and then pushing himself off the wall to begin his turn at pacing around. He had meant this whole conversation for Jack to be able to let go some of the burden and get back to top shape, but he might have miscalculated how the conversation would also affect him. So now, with a painful knot in his throat and making every effort to control his watery eyes, he found himself confessing to his friend the things that had run through his over active imagination for years; years that he had kept silent because of the promise he had made to him, a promise he was ready to break right here and right now if it helped alleviate some of the pain he had kept buried deep inside him since that time. There was no better place to do it than here, he though, it was Jack's apartment after all "Jack, you don't... I need to know everything that happened. I've needed to know for years. I mean, not knowing? That's... Whatever the truth Jack, it's gotta be better than all this guessing" Jack visibly swallowed, maybe understanding for the first time what Mac was trying to tell him. He must have been fighting his own demons about what happened during that time, and not being able to remember all of it because of the state he had been in, only left room for his imagination to try and fill up the blanks and he knew, _he knew_ , how dangerous Mac's brain could be, not only to others, but to himself. So, with a heavy heart, he nodded.

"Alright, let's talk about it" he agreed but then both of them remained silent for a while. Mac was shocked to see that he would finally get the answers he wanted and suddenly feeling very afraid of getting them; and Jack's heart was racing, trying to anticipate what kind of questions his partner had "what do you wanna know?" he invited, and braced himself for the worst (always be extra prepared, right?). Mac finally found his voice again.

"I remember the first days. The beatings and all of that. That wasn't anything new and I know I was working on a plan to get us out of there, but then the beatings stopped. That's when things get fuzzy. I... I remember them taking you, but you would come back unharmed. Well, not much, but nothing major, ever. When I was alone, I know I kept working on my plan but I can't remember why I didn't finish it. Also... I've always wondered... I'm... they..." Mac began to stumble over his own words, not sure how to phrase the actual question he had been wanting to make for years. His heart felt like it would race out of his chest and his breathing was rapid at best "did they ever...? Did they touch or..." for the life of him he couldn't bring himself to say it "because I remember them taunting and joking about it. Making innuendos and such but I can't remember! Jack, " his voice got a pleading tone now "did they do it? I can't remember..." his voice broke at that moment and he couldn't keep talking, fixing Jack with a look that spoke of how much the answer to this question meant to him and suddenly Jack felt very guilty for having forced his partner into silence, leaving his brain to work out the blanks and making him fear something like that had ever happened to him.

"Jesus Mac! No. They never did anything like that; I made sure of it. They never touched you or violated you in anyway. Not in _that_ way at least. I promise" he stressed, wanting to reassure Mac as best as he could. The blond, on his part, released the breath he had been holding, bringing shaking hands to cover his face and sinking down to sit on the floor leaning against the wall for support because he felt like the floor had suddenly dropped ten feet under him. His stomach rolled but he managed to keep its contents in.

"Oh, thank God!" he whispered, wiping the few tears that managed to escape and now holding his trembling hands in one tight fist on his lap "that's good, that's... _Shit!_ " he cussed and then began to laugh nervously out of relief. Jack immediately sat down in front of him, legs crossed and ran a hand up and down his face, extinguishing his own rebellious tears.

"I'm sorry I let you think that all this time brother" he apologized sincerely. Mac sent him a small smile and asked his next question.

"Then what happened? Why didn't I finish my plan? Why did it take us so long to get out?"

"We didn't get out Mac, we were found. After 43 days, we were rescued"

"Jack, just tell me what really happened" the older man sighed and proceeded to tell his side of the story.

"You couldn't finish your plan because you were so weak..." he almost whispered, now looking at the floor and avoiding the younger man's gaze "I sure as hell couldn't have done it even if you had explained it a thousand times" a small pause and then "they starved you Mac. They almost starved you to death"

"I know that. The doctor explained it to me but he never told me how I survived and by the time I got the courage to ask you, you had made me promise never to mention this again. I only complied because I could see how hard whatever happened had been for you" Mac said, regaining his composure and his curiosity once again lifting up.

"Listen, I'm sure you know how starvation works and the body's mechanisms and every other thing you've been able to memorize and learn since you were born, but seeing you..." he cleared his throat "they thought they could get the info we didn't actually have by using you against me. When they took me out of the room it was to feed me and keep me healthy enough to stay alive and not fight back, but when they stopped beating you they also stopped feeding you" Mac remembered that part, the first few days of having absolutely no food were awful. Stomach aches and cramps made a regular appearance and he felt tired, as if he had been doing hard labor instead of just laying in a cell. He remembered some desperation as the days went on, having only sips of water from time to time but, after that, his memories became so blurred and jumbled together that he honestly couldn't say what was real or not, what had actually happened or what he had made up, right until the point where he couldn't remember anything at all. Jack kept going, finally letting go of the painful memories he still reserved intact "they forced me to watch helplessly as you slowly deteriorated, unable to do anything about it. You... You were so weak there was a moment you couldn't talk back, you could barely move with my help and you lost so much weight... You were dying Mac, slowly, in my arms, every day, little by little you were dying and I would've given them anything to save you. If I had known what they wanted, I would've sang in a heartbeat if it meant saving your life. Seeing you like that Mac... Seeing my boy-" he suddenly stopped, realizing what he had just said and looking into Mac's eyes to find, not surprise, but sorrow and a little bit of something else maybe? Pride? Love? Reciprocity? "It broke me kid" he finished, clearing his throat from the uncomfortable ache settled deep within. Mac was lost for a moment, picturing exactly everything that Jack had just told him and making a few loosely based calculations in his mind.

"I don't understand" he said.

"What?"

"How I made it" Mac replied "the average person can survive between 40 to 50 days of inanition, and that only if the person stays hydrated and is generally a healthy person. Lots of things can improve or decrease the odds, like body mass, genetics, endurance. I've always been lean... skinny" he was quick to correct with an eye roll at receiving a pointed look from his partner "and I hadn't eaten properly for days before being taken. They had beaten me up pretty well and water supply wasn't a constant. I don't understand how I could survive that"

"Genetics? You just said genetics play a part on this too"

"Jack" Mac said, and the older man sighed again.

"I don't even know how I knew it" he said, not making much sense to Mac "I honestly can't say how I knew it. Maybe someone told me once? Maybe I saw it or read it somewhere? Maybe I was just too freaked out to remember that, but what I did recall was that drinking blood can actually save someone from starvation. It's a liquid that has H2O and nutrients necessary for the body, so it helps the person stay as hydrated as one can be without drinking water and it compensates the loss of nutrients from food, at least some of them. Don't ask me exactly how it works, but it worked okay? It kept you alive long enough for us to be rescued and I won't apologize for doing what I did because it was literally the only thing I could do" Jack saw how Mac's face visibly paled and a look of horror passed through the younger man's eyes.

"Oh" was all he managed to say for a few minutes while he worked on keeping the nausea that had suddenly stricken him at bay.

"Yeah, oh" Jack agreed, sending a timid smile to his friend.

"How?" Mac asked, intent on finding out every detail of Jack's worst days ever. The older man simply took off the leather cuff from around his wrist and showed him a few lined scars on the underside of his wrist.

"I don't think you were even conscious of what you were doing. I just gave it to you and you took it" he said. Mac had taken a hold of his wrist and was examining the cuts, a mixture of repulsion and gratefulness wreaking havoc inside of him.

"I'm sorry" he said, fresh tears making an appearance and running freely down his cheeks "I never really knew how hard it was for you"

"It was for you too" Jack said, taking a hold of Mac's hand and squeezing almost painfully "now listen to me: it's something I would do a thousand times over it if meant saving your life. You don't need to apologize for that because that's my job, taking care of you and having your back" Mac nodded.

"Have I ever thanked you?" he asked "for always having my back?" now Jack actually smiled, a genuine smile.

"You have. But showing appreciation more frequently is something you could work on. You know how I love a good steak and a cold beer" Mac laughed and after a while, he asked.

"Are you okay enough for the mission?" he repeated his previous question.

"I am now. Are you?"

"Yeah... Yeah I am"

"Then let's go catch ourselves some bad guys" Jack said "and we better hurry, wheels up in 10"

THE END – FINITO – TEMRINADO

 **There you have it. I know the theme discussed in this chapter was a bit intense and it someone felt odd with it, I apologize. I just needed to let it go from my head. I sincerely hope that you guys liked it and I would love to read your comments.**

 **Also, I know the ending of my chapters and kinda crappy, but I just never seem to know how to end them. I hope they're good enough though…**


	7. Flash

**This chapter is dedicated to the person that gave me the prompt that inspired it. I sent you a PM letting you know I would be posting this tonight.**

 **Also, I'd like to thank again those of you who reviewed the last chapter (admittedly my favorite so far) because you put a smile on my face and gave me motivation to keep writing.**

 **This new chapter is full of action and it is a bit of "time sensitive", if you know what I mean, so hopefully, it'll keep you entertained. I can't wait to see your comments about it!**

 **Summary: things get complicated when the team comes up against a bomb that apparently Mac can't diffuse. How will they save the day?**

 **CHAPTER 7: Flash**

"Riley, how long 'till you sound the alarm?" Jack asked over the coms.

"Just a minute, I'm almost there" came the slightly breathless reply of the young hacker who was currently sprinting towards the nearest fire alarm to pull it and evacuate the building as quickly as possible.

"Mac! How's it coming buddy?" for a moment he could only hear mumbling on the other side of the line and he knew Mac was kind of talking to himself, making some complicated calculations, no doubt. Jack usually knew not to interrupt him when he got like this, because the kid needed his focus and he only made his calculations out loud when the problem he needed to solve was proving to be difficult, but given the sensibility of the mission, he needed to ask again "Mac, what's going on there?" his young partner finally replied with the most dreaded and rare words that could ever come out of the blond agent.

"I can't do it Jack. I can't stop the bomb" Mac's tone of voice was frustrated and angry. He was gonna fail to do his job and hundreds of innocent lives would suffer the consequences "you need to get yourselves and everyone else out of here now. I'll try to minimize the damage and the blast radius and then meet you outside" he stated, voice back to being professional and collected. Riley, who had been listening into the conversation while yelling at everybody to get out of the place like _now_ , was the first one to respond.

"What? You're staying in with a bomb you can't diffuse? Are you crazy Mac? Get out of there!" Jack was also shouting at his partner to do the sensible thing for once and get the hell out of there just like everyone else. He had also started to do the exact opposite by running in the direction of the ground level office the bomb and been planted in and searching for his partner.

"Listen to me bud, if there's nothing you can do to stop it, there's no point staying here" when he finally found Mac, knelt next to a desk still studying the bomb, Jack saw the expression he always wore whenever he got an idea, an incredibly dangerous idea "Mac, what are you doing, let's go!"

"Actually, I think I know what to do" Mac said, standing up suddenly and regarding Jack with a hopeful look in his eyes "please tell me you parked the car right outside the door" Mac pleaded, actually not having a clue where their vehicle was because he had come into the building before Jack had found a spot to leave it parked. Not knowing why Mac wanted to know that, but remembering their time was precious, Jack just answered the question.

"The car's just across the street" with that, Mac immediately began to work.

"Give me your vest" the young man ordered and Jack started unstrapping the velcro holding the heavy vest firmly around his chest.

"Talk to me bud, what are you doing?" Jack asked while handing him the vest.

"This kind of bomb is complicated as hell; I've diffused stuff like this before but I've never been able to do it under 15 minutes. The count's already down to ten" Mac answered while rapidly but carefully wrapping the vest around the bomb and picking it up to keep close to his body and starting to make his way out the door, Jack following close behind.

"So we were too late" the older agent stated.

"Yeah but we can still save these people. I thought I'd go to the deepest level of the parking lot and throw the bomb under a car to minimize the explosion radius but I got a better idea. Riley... " he called over their coms "I need you to find me the closest open space within an 8 minute drive at a hundred miles per hour" they could hear their technician finding a spot to open her laptop and begin typing away, waiting for a reply while approaching their car, having already left the building.

"So we're driving away with a ticking un-diffusable bomb?" Jack asked worried. Mac sent him a dangerous grin.

"You always like it when you get to play Toretto on Fast and Furious" he kind of joked "so, hit it!" he encouraged him after they got inside the car.

"Alright guys, the only thing I could find is the parking lot of a Walmart, five minutes from your position" Riley said "but you need to leave now" Jack didn't need to be told twice. He stepped on the accelerator and drove towards their destination, pushing the engine as far as it could go.

In the meantime, Mac had turned around and placed the bomb on the back seat. He knelt on top of his own seat and fished out his swiss army knife, getting out the longer blade and stabbing furiously at the back seat.

"Whoa, whoa! What are you doing murdering the car?" he protested.

"The car's not gonna make it anyway" Mac replied, a bit breathless from the light exertion.

"Great" Jack mumbled "another deposit down the drain"

"Three minutes until you get there" announced Riley. By now Mac had made a big enough hole in the seat to accommodate their ticking bomb and was now lowering the top of the seats like you would if you wanted to reach into the trunk of the car from the inside. He wanted to put as much of a barrier as he could on top and around the bomb to act as a shield, kind of like when a soldier threw himself over a bomb and hugged it tight to save the rest of his unit from the blast. Unfortunately, Mac had gotten the idea from experience. Not personal, obviously, but from having watched at least two different soldiers (heroes) do the same; it was one of the many ultimate sacrifices a soldier could make on behalf of his friends, his comrades, his brothers.

"Two minutes!" Riley said, indicating to Jack the whole time the turns he needed to make. Satisfied that there was nothing else in the car he could use to help him, Mac turned back around to face the front and wipe some sweat from his forehead.

"Okay. That's two minutes to get there and five until the bomb detonates. We can make it" he said, trying to reassure everybody, including himself, because there were still so many variables that could derail such an improvised plan: traffic, hold ups, car malfunction, a misdirection, a missed turn, a collision, the parking lot being full of cars and people. But there was no other choice.

Finally they could spot the Walmart sign ahead of then and Jack pressed harder on the gas. When the parking lot came into view, Mac studied it quickly to determine the best spot to leave the bomb and cause less havoc. Leaving the car too close to the Walmart entrance was totally out of the question; they actually needed it as far away from it as possible. Luckily there was a corner of the outside parking lot that was opposite to the entrance and wasn't filled with cars yet. Mac signaled to it and Jack drove the car towards the place.

"Riley, can you hack into the traffic lights and prevent cars from driving through the west street around Walmart? We need to keep this as clear as possible" Mac instructed.

"On it!" the young woman got into the system and turned all the lights red for that side of the streets, preventing anyone from driving too close to the bomb "Guys! It's two minutes now until detonation. Get out of there!" she insisted. Jack was close enough to the spot where they needed to leave the car and Mac explained exactly in what angle he needed to park it.

"Riley!" Mac asked again, this time some urgency to his voice, which was never a good thing "make sure no one gets out of the store!" they heard a noise between a complain and frustration on the other side of the line. Riley knew it was an important thing to do, but hacking into the individual system of the electronics inside Walmart would be so much harder than simply hacking into street lights, for which a signal was almost everywhere. Now she had to pinpoint Walmart's signal from quite a distance, since she was still on the building that was supposed to be the target, and then bypass security and get a hold of the control for the electronic doors to keep them close and effectively trapping everyone inside, preventing them to walk into the parking lot and close to the explosion. She actually wasn't sure she could do it on time, but she sure as hell would try.

Finally Jack was able to park the car exactly where Mac told him to, and they both jumped out, itching to get away from the thing since there was less than a minute now until it blew out.  
Jack did a sweep around himself, making sure there was actually no one else close and around them, spotting just the perfect pair of cars a good few hundred feet away that would provide excellent cover from the blast. He started making his way there.

"Mac! Come on!" he said, waving at his young partner to follow him but having to stop even before actually beginning to run, seeing as Mac was still rooted to the spot near the passenger door, glancing around as if doing some last-minute calculations "Mac!" he yelled to get his partner's attention. The blonde's head snapped up and caught up with his friend's thoughts, having already searched the perimeter around him and coming up with nothing else that could help act as a barrier for the bomb, and then starting to run in the direction Jack had taken. The cars they would hide behind were still a bit far away and they would reach the spot almost at the same time the bomb would go off, having less than ten seconds on the clock. They could hear Riley over the coms, asking if they had made it to safety yet and telling them she was headed their way, having already contacted Matty, who would soon send help and exfil indications, but there was no time for an elaborated reply beyond the rapid breathing resulting on running for their lives.

Jack, having started to run before Mac, made it to the cars first and crouched behind one, near the front wheels and extending his hand to offer Mac help in skidding to a stop and then crouching down beside him. The only problem was, he didn't have time.

"Guys!" Riley's concerned (slightly scared) voice sounding high pitched in their ears again "the bomb's about to-"

Just as she was gonna say 'explode' there was a loud BOOM right about the second Mac was reaching out to clasp Jack's hand but since he hadn't been behind the cover of the cars yet, the blast of the explosion caught up to him and sent him flying forward with a pained grunt. Jack had tried holding into Mac's fingers but the force of the blast forced him to lay flat on the floor, having already missed taking a hold of his partner, and bringing his hands up to cover his head from the car glass raining down on him. There was a big roar as the first wave of flames rose up to the sky in a mushroom cloud, followed by the sound of alarms coming off all at once from all the cars that the explosion had managed to catch. Several muffled screams were heard from the Walmart costumers that had been close to the electronic doors, trying to get out and traffic all around the place had become complete chaos. In the midst of all that, Jack glanced up to look at his partner, laying several feet ahead of him. He stumbled to his feet, a constant ringing he was all too familiar with making an appearance in his ears, and rushed forward to his friend.

"Mac!" Jack was pretty sure he yelled, although the sound didn't exactly reach his ears as he had meant. He knew it was the after-explosion ringing effect, though. He reached his partner and was glad to see that the explosion hadn't knock him out. He was on his side, breathing rapidly and with a scrunched-up expression on his face. He startled when Jack put a hand on his shoulder "easy, it's me buddy. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"Jack?" the blond asked, his voice a little raised too but still dull to his own ringing ears "are you okay?" the older man heavied a sigh.

"Yes, I'm okay. Again, are you hurt anywhere?" he insisted, knowing his partner tended to focus his attention on everyone else's injuries but his own. That's why he decided to check for himself and started running a hand over the kid's ribs, checking for fractures, until Mac swatted his hand away.

"I'm not hurt Jack" he stated, making Jack do a once over and deciding that, for once, maybe the stubborn agent had been right. A few scrapes from his slide on the asphalt was hardly considered an injury in their line of work "I just can't open my eyes" Mac said somewhat reluctantly.

"What?" Jack asked, confused, worry again creeping up to the surface.

"I SAID I CAN'T OPEN MY EYES!" Mac yelled back, thinking that his partner hadn't heard him the first time due to the ringing still present but slightly faded in their ears.

"Hey! No need to yell. I heard you alright?" Jack then stared at Mac, worry turning into apprehension and apprehension turning into fear as he spoke back to his partner "Mac... your eyes are open"

Silence.

A deep frowning.

Several attempts at blinking, and then, panic.

"What? No, they're not!" Mac reached up with his hand and searched his own face, finding his eyes and then actually closing them and pressing his fingers to them, opening them again and seeing no change; actually, seeing nothing at all. He started to tremble and his breathing became agitated. Now he blindly reached forward with his shaking hands "Jack? Jack, I can't see. I can't see! Jack?!" the older man took a hold of his hands and tried to calm him down.

"Breathe Mac. Try not to panic" easier said than done since he was pretty much panicking himself "help's already on its way"

"Guys where are you?" Riley had finally reached the parking lot.

"Just follow the burning car" Jack answered on his comm, his gaze still fixed on his young partner who had suddenly become uncharacteristically and exceptionally still. He was still clutching his hands, but apart from the involuntary trembling of his body, he remained quiet like that, even after Riley finally located them.

"What happened to him?" she asked, troubled by the sight that greeted her: an unnaturally still Mac sitting on the floor, clasping Jack's hand tightly, breathing rapidly and eyes clenched shut. Jack, on his part, had one hand resting on Mac's shoulder, trying to give him an anchor to hold on to until help could arrive.

"How long until an ambulance gets here?" he asked the young woman.

"They should arrive at any moment given Matty's orders and all this mess" she replied, pointing at the burning car a few feet away. As if on cue, they heard sirens approaching and were glad that the first responders to the scene were actually agents they knew from the Phoenix Foundation.

"Agent Dalton?" one of them asked and proceeded when he got confirmation from Jack "an ambulance has just arrived" immediately, two paramedics made their way rushing to the group of people now gathered around the partners and Mac instinctively scooted closer to Jack when sensing so much movement around him and being unable to see any of it. Jack squeezed his shoulder and was quick to reassure him.

"Mac, the medic team's here. They're gonna take a look at you" he said and then winced at the unintended pun that had just left his mouth, thinking that Mac must have been pretty freaked out when he made no comments about it.

"Agent MacGyver? My name's Lena. I'm gonna do a quick assessment before loading you into the ambulance and taking you to the hospital" her voice was sweet and kind, slow but not patronizing. Encouraging, actually; so Mac nodded that he had understood and kind of gave her permission to continue, but being unable to stop his increased trembling the moment he felt another set of hands on him, other than Jack's.

Being unable to see anything around him gave him a sense of vulnerability he had never experienced before. Sure, he had been blindfolded before, but this was different. This time, it was his body failing. What if this was permanent? What if a bomb had finally managed to take him out? Not killing him but rendering him useless. A sound between a sob and a hitch escaped him and just for a second he was glad he actually couldn't see the faces of anyone around him because of the shame he was feeling right now at freaking out in front of everyone. He ducted his head low, towards his partner and buried his head on his broad chest, fighting against the full blown panic attack threatening to overtake him. Jack used the hand that had been resting on the young man's shoulder to envelope him in a one arm hug while still clutching his hand with the other.

"Can you give us a minute, please?" he asked everyone around them, especially to the sweet paramedic who just nodded with a smile and stood up to give the two men some privacy. Riley's heart clenched for her friend when she caught the fear showing in Mac's face right before he had hidden it away, knowing how much Mac hated to look weak in front of others, and fearing for his wellbeing if whatever was wrong with his eyes couldn't be fixed, and she didn't just mean physically. She, too, took a few steps away to leave Jack, the expert on all things MacGyver, to deal with bringing his partner's panic to a manageable level.

When they were as alone as they could be under the circumstances, Jack brought a hand to the back of Mac's neck.

"Calm down buddy. I know this gotta be scary as hell but I'm also sure there's gotta be a solution. You just have to trust that there is"

"What if there's not?" Mac asked in an almost inaudible whisper.

"Well, until the doctors say it, this is neither good or bad. Just like that cat inside a box in the Screwdriver theory you like so much" Jack said, an immense weight lifting off his shoulder when Mac actually snorted.

"Scrödinger theory" he corrected.

"Same difference" Jack said back "what do you say we leave the panicking for when there's actually something to panic about?" he knew his partner had every right to be panicking right now, but he also knew logic was the best way to get him to pull himself together long enough to solve a problem. At receiving Mac's nod, he called the medical staff back and they began examining Mac, who had sat straight and was putting on a brave face, still holding into Jack's hand, of course.

"Do you know if you hit your head when you fell?" Lena asked.

"Yeah" Mac pointed (or thought he did) to the back of his head.

"Well, that's a good sign!" Lena said enthusiastically.

"What are you talking about?" Riley, who had also come closer to stand by her friends, asked, not sure she understood the paramedic's train of thought.

"The occipital lobe of the brain, which is the one located at the back, is the one that controls the vision. When it suffers a traumatism just in the right spot, it can affect your optical nerve, resulting in loss of sight. Since there is no physical damage to the actual eyes, not that I can see, I'm almost certain this is just a severe case of optical nerve swelling. Now, I'm no doctor (yet, she was quick to add) so you're still gonna go to the hospital and get a CT scan and some other tests to either confirm or reject my field diagnosis" she finished.

"Is it permanent?" Mac asked, his voice still unsure but less so than before. Instead of answering right away, Lena unexpectedly shown a light directly into one of his eyes and Mac had to flinch away with a gasp. He could see the bright light as you would see the flash of a camera still shining in the center of your vision when you closed your eyes immediately after the photo had been taken. He could kind of see the light, but the rest of it was still just black.

"Probably not. If not, you wouldn't have been able to notice that" she replied, and Mac breathed a sigh a relief, even though he wouldn't let his guard down until he actually got his sight back.

"You see? I told you. The cat's more alive than dead right now" both Riley and Lena looked at each other confused, not knowing what Jack was talking about but, clearly, Mac did.

"When are we going to the hospital then?" the young agent asked, leaving everyone in awe because that was the first time he had actually asked to be taken there, and that only spoke of how freaked out he actually still was. Jack helped him get to his feet then and steadied him when he swayed and stumbled on his first steps. Not being able to see could really mess with your equilibrium.

"You okay to walk?" Jack asked, starting to guide his partner forward. Mac sent him what he hoped could pass for a glare and Jack was quick to add "it's not far anyway, you can make it" and he did. Once they reached the ambulance, he was placed on the gurney and made to lay down (against some protest) so the ambulance could start their way to the nearest hospital.

Laying down again actually brought a slight pulsating pain to the back of his head, one that maybe had been there since the explosion but he hadn't quite acknowledged. He brought a hand to his forehead and moaned out loud.

"What is it Mac?" Lena asked, resorting to use his preferred name under Jack's insistence.

"I need to sit" he groaned, making an attempt but falling back to the gurney as the sensation of being on a rollercoaster assaulted him.

"Are you gonna be sick?" Jack asked, worry making a reappearance on his face and swearing that this kid was making him grow some more premature lines.

"No. I just need to sit. My head hurts too much when I lay down" he was finally able to get into a sitting position with the help of his partner and the pain resided just a fraction. Lena began to measure his pressure and make other examinations, noting the results on a sheet of paper in her lap.

"Usually that means the swelling is already going down. Which is really good, but can also be really painful as the pressure is relieved from the nerve" Lena explained "they'll give you something for the pain when we arrive"

True to her word, the attending doctor in the ER gave him a dose of painkillers after examining him herself, confirming Lena's diagnosis and assuring them that the effects of the blast would disappear as the swelling went down, much to everyone's relief, especially after Mac declared that the black screen he had been seeing right since the explosion had begun to look less dark.

What really came as a shock to them all, was when Mac actually asked to stay overnight at the hospital. The doctor had already given him the clear to go home, telling him that it was just a game of wait and see, _literally_ , and giving Jack the instructions for medicine and proper care. But, despite that, Mac had done everything to convince the doctor to let him stay for observation at least one night. Given the fact that he had never asked for something like that before, and that Matty was very willing to make that wish come true, phone calls were arranged between their boss and the hospital staff.

Now, three hours later, Mac found himself sitting on a hospital bed, with his back raised as high as the bed would allow, his legs crossed under the light blanket and a paperclip in hand that Jack had stolen from a medical file on the nurse's station right down the hall. Jack, as always, rested on the chair next to the bed.

"This really got to you, didn't it?" the older man asked, watching as Mac squinted through his eyes to try and see if the paper clip he had been playing with had gotten the shape he wanted. Huffing when he could only make out a blurred grey line in an otherwise white background. Mac's sight had progressively come back as the medication to bring down the swelling took effect and more time passed between the bomb explosion and his complete recovery. The doctor had been optimistic that, if things continued to progress this well, he would have his full vision restored in the morning, after a good night's sleep. Mac put the paperclip down and glanced in the general direction of his partner, a blurry shadow making its way to his field of vision.

"Honestly, I was terrified. Scared to death, actually. Still am" he completed, somehow not ashamed to confess it but, still, only doing it because he and Jack were alone.

"I bet" Jack agreed, knowing that he had been scared as hell too "good thing the cat ended up alive though" Mac smiled, remembering their earlier conversation and once again being kind of surprised at how well his partner knew how to handle him.

"Yeah, but we gotta work on your whole confuse-and-mistake-names problem"

"Aww come on... As long as you get what I'm saying, what's the issue?" Mac laughed and closed his eyes, leaning his head back, but opening them again quickly, just as he had done for the last hour or so, because he couldn't stand seeing the blackness behind closed lids. He was tired, and he wanted to go to sleep, but he didn't want to close his eyes either "I could ask for them to give you something to sleep" Jack offered but Mac shook his head.

"I'm fine" his reply was muffled by a yawn, and Jack got up from his chair.

"Don't be stubborn now. You wanted to stay here and they can give you something to help you sleep"

"I can fall asleep on my own" Mac said.

"Yeah, if you actually managed to keep your eyes closed for more than a few seconds. Don't think I don't know why that is" alright, maybe Jack knew him too well for his own good. Mac rolled his eyes at him, wincing a bit as the movement sent a spike of pain through his brain but glancing back at Jack when the older man put a hand on his shoulder "I'll be here all night, so you just shut your eyes and rest" Mac looked unsure for a minute, but another yawn settled the matter.

"Fine" he grumbled and then turned to lay on his side, facing Jack, reluctantly closing his eyes. He managed to keep them closed for about 56 seconds (he counted them) but had to open them as a slight wave of panic settled in, kind of like when you dream you're drowning and you actually hold your breath in your sleep, waking up gasping from the lack of oxygen.

"That's it!" Jack exclaimed, getting up from the chair where he had sat back down, intent on getting a nurse to give his partner something to knock him out good.

"No! Wait! Jack! I can fall asleep. I can fall asleep" Mac stressed, begging Jack not to go out. Jack regarded him with a hard look, not that Mac would have been able to distinguish it.

"One more try Mac. Then I'm getting the nurse"

Mac nodded and Jack went back to the chair. The young man closed his eyes again and began to count the seconds in his head again. He was determined not to open them again because he was hell bent against sleeping medication, he didn't want to feel like the will the see was taken away from him yet again by external influences, so he made an effort to control his breathing and keep his eyes closed. When he reached 56 seconds, he pushed himself harder over the drowning feeling and remained the same.

Jack studied his partner as he made a monumental effort to keep his eyes closed, watching him clench and unclench them as the minutes went by but always keeping them closed.  
He knew Mac was struggling and shaken up by what had happened; he himself couldn't imagine being blinded completely and not knowing if it was a permanent or a temporary condition. Mac had every right to feel shaken but Jack wasn't going to feel guilty (well, not much) about making him go to sleep. The sooner he fell asleep, the sooner morning would come for him and his vision would be restored completely. Jack was also anxious for the moment to come, because anytime Mac felt unsure of himself or scared, was a burden over his heart, so he just wanted it to be over.

Eventually he noticed Mac's facial features relaxing until he was certain his partner had truly fallen asleep. Then and only then, did he close his eyes as well, ready for the morning to come and relieve them both of their respective burdens.

THE END – FINITO – TERMINADO

 **I really liked this chapter and I hope you did too. I actually think that this is the longest chapter yet (well, maybe the same as "The Expert (part 2)).**

 **You know… we're all really lucky that I started this fic right when my vacation time came up because now I have all this free time that I need to fill with something and what better way to do it than writing? So, feel free again to leave a prompt and I'll do my best to comply!**


	8. Wisdom

**First of all, I wanted to say how sorry I am for having completely disappeared for the last week and a half. I really did try to update this fic and post a new chapter last week but I just started writing a chapter and I wouldn't like, the start another ad it would be the same. I have like four new chapters started but not finished because I just didn't like how they were coming out.**

 **I want to thank though Jo1966 for asking where I was because you just gave me the push I needed to finish this. It is not, by far, my best work, but I figured I better just put it out there and end this writer's block I seem to be having. Hopefully it won't seem so bad to you guys as it seems to me. You will find that the way Mac feels in this chapter is kinda the way I'm feeling now… I know… pathetic… you'll see.**

 **Also, thanks to raine2460 for the prompt that inspired this story. I hope you're not too disappointed with the result. Maybe I'll work in the future in a remake of this chapter.**

 **Anyway… here it is…**

 **Summary: After the end of a mission, Mac is left with dealing with the consequences of a decision he had to make in order to save both the lives of his partner and an innocent little boy.**

 **CHAPTER 8: Wisdom**

He shouldn't have done it.

How could he have done it?

He should've found another way; he always found another way. Then why couldn't he do it this time?

Argh! He hated himself so much right now!

"Hey buddy, are you okay there?" Jack asked, watching his younger partner intently from the seat across from him. They had been on the plane back home for about an hour now, and all the time Mac had been staring out the window, supporting his chin with a tightly clenched fist and glaring to the open sky with a frown on his face that looked almost painful. Mac wasn't really one to get angry easily. Pissed off, sure. Annoyed, yeah. But downright angry was hard to come by with him, so Jack was genuinely concerned about the consequences of what had happened that day and how they were starting to affect his friend.

Mac didn't answer the question. He didn't even glance up, and not because he hadn't heard it, but because he simply didn't want to discuss the matter right now. He actually didn't want to discuss it ever. Jack had tried again to gain his partner's attention but heavied a sigh when the result was the same. Either way, he figured he might as well just say what he wanted to say in case Mac was actually paying attention, no matter if he talked back or not.

"Alright, listen to me; I can tell that you're angry and I get that. I won't talk you out of feeling the way you do because I know you, but I just want to make sure you don't get lost inside that brain of yours, thinking and rethinking everything you could've done differently; you know that's a dangerous path and I don't want you getting stuck in it. Whatever happened, happened and, if you ask me, there was no other way of doing it. We got the job done and saved an innocent life. That's what matters" he finished, feeling pretty proud of himself when he actually managed to draw his partner's eyes toward him. A feeling that only lasted for about a second when he noticed the intensity with which he was regarding him.

"So that's the only thing that matters, right? Getting the job done?" Mac asked, with venom in his voice. Jack winced at how cold and furiously controlled his voice sounded and he was glad they were the only two people in the plane right now, since Riley had worked the entire mission from home. Jack cleared his throat.

"Did you miss the part where I said we saved an innocent life?" he asked, hoping at least an attempt at humor would start to bring down the fire burning inside his partner's eyes. He realized his mistake when Mac's voice got louder.

"And took another one!" he said, clenching his fists even more, as if he was aching to hit something or someone.

"Come on! That life was hardly innocent" Jack tried to defend the action.

"And that's supposed to justify it?" Mac asked, feeling the anger inside of him multiply by ten and, being unable to control it, he added "is that how you do it? ' _Oh, this one's not so innocent, so let's take him out'_ " he mocked in a poor imitation of Jack's voice and the second he said it, he regretted it. He knew he was being unfair, that he was letting his anger and hatred towards himself right now fuel the words he was directing at his partner, but he didn't seem able to stop. Somehow, he was feeling the need to let out the destructive words that would soon contaminate one of the best things that had ever happened to him because that's just who he was. That's what he had proven himself to be today, on that alley, when he had pulled the trigger. He was a destructive person. Everything he created was used to destroy things, to harm people and up until today he had been foolishly hiding behind the idea that if he didn't use a gun himself, then he wasn't such a bad person. But how many people had he killed with one of his improvised explosions? How many lives had he ended in the name of a greater good. Today, he had just proven to himself how easy it was for him to take a man's life, and now he had fallen into a path of self-recrimination and destruction he wasn't so sure he wanted, or could, get out from. And especially not after he had already fired such a flame towards his best friend. One that wasn't looking so concerned now and, instead, looked more hurt and surprised than anything.

"I'm gonna pretend like you didn't just say that, because you're upset. You know we've always respected the way the other one does their job. But fine, actually, I apologize. I shouldn't have started the conversation in the first place" Jack said bitterly and then purposefully looked away from his partner. The indifference on Jack's tone when he finished that sentence was what ended up ticking Mac off and he could feel the burning of tears behind his eyes and his throat close tightly and painfully. He was clenching his fists so tightly his arms were starting to shake and when he felt like he couldn't take it anymore, he sprung from the chair and stormed to the back end of the plane, unable to catch the sob that escaped him and locking himself inside the bathroom. Jack watched him make his impromptu retreat and heavied another sigh; maybe that hadn't been his best approach. He knew why his partner hated guns and this wasn't the first time he'd had to use one to defend himself or someone else, so he shouldn't have let that comment get to him so much, instead just seeing it for what it was: a cry for help dealing with what had happened.

"Way to go Dalton" he said to himself and then got up from his own seat to approach the bathroom. He couldn't hear anything from the inside, so he rested his arm on the frame and leaned forward to talk to Mac "Hey, Mac... Listen, we're good, okay?" no answer "I know you're upset and I shouldn't have pushed you to talk" silence "I know you didn't mean what you said" he tried again, but the only sound that came back to him was the one of the mirror breaking into a million pieces "Hey, what are you doing in there Mac?" Jack asked, unable to hide the concern in his voice. Instead of a verbal answer, another sound came; this time, of a fist hitting a wall. Again, and again, and again until a muffled curse had Jack banging on the door and demanding it to be opened "Come on buddy, open the door"

"Go back to your seat Jack" Mac said, and Jack could just tell that the kid had been crying.

"No can do brother. You're hurting and by the sound of that, whatever you're doing in there, it ain't pretty" the familiar accent slipping into his words by the worry he was feeling. One that wasn't lost on Mac, which made him feel even guiltier than before.

"Why do you put up with me?" Mac asked, and by where the sound of his voice had come from, Jack could tell the blond agent had slipped down to sit on the floor, so he did the same thing.

"I've told you before. I'm the only one that can stand you, so you're stuck with me" Jack tried, hoping the joke wouldn't backfire on him like it had done the first time he had said it. Just why the hell he thought it would actually work here, he had no idea. He was starting to think he had screwed up again when no answer was forthcoming and he really wanted to blame the long hours without sleep and the earlier confrontation with their suspect for his un-peculiar inability to handle his young partner right now. It just seemed that everything he said made the situation worse "Okay, let me ask you something. Why do _you_ put up with _me_?" he decided to try a more psychological approach. Hopefully it wouldn't make the situation worse.

"What are you talking about?" Mac asked back, genuine confusion in his voice.

"Well, I have as much of a right to ask the question than you do. So, why do you put up with me?"

"I... I mean... You..." Mac made several attempts to answer that question, but there was no way to put the answer into words. Jack had been expecting that and he smiled.

"See? There's no easy way to answer that and the same thing you feel towards me, I feel for you, so there's your answer" Jack heard a sniff coming from the other side of the door and he knew he had nailed it "what you did today doesn't make me see you any differently bud, just like you don't see me differently every time I've had to do it"

"It's different Jack" the younger agent said, and Jack was glad that apparently the crisis was over if Mac was willing to talk now "I should've found another way to end it. I always do..."

"You know I respect the hell out of you for always trying to find the less violent solution, but you can't take on such a load of blame when things don't go as planned. You're a genius Mac, but you're only human. You're not perfect"

"I can't stop thinking about what I could've done to prevent it" Mac said sheepishly.

"And that happens to the best of us, always. Doesn't mean there actually was something else or different to do"

"There's always a different way to do things Jack"

"Maybe. But I know that getting stuck on _'what if's_ ' isn't gonna change anything. I, for one, am glad that both of us are alive and that that little kid got to go home with his parents tonight. So, yeah, that's a victory in my book" there was another long pause in the conversation and Jack took the opportunity to his advantage "will you open the door now? I kinda need to take a leak" he could practically see the kid's eyes rolling while he heard him getting up from the floor. The door slid open a few moments later and Jack wasn't surprised to find a mess of broken glass on the floor and an ashamed Mac holding a bloody hand and looking intently at the floor. Jack chose not to say anything, instead just stepping inside and grabbing his friend's hand to put it under the running water of the sink. Mac's knuckles were split open and when they came into contact with the water, he hissed, averting his eyes from the rest of the mirror that still hang from the wall and through which his partner was looking at him. When he had finished rinsing the blood from his hand, Jack wrapped it in paper before reaching for the first aid kit that was mandatory on their plane. He silently applied antiseptic to the cuts and then bandaged the hand, making sure to disinfect the wounds and then pack them tightly. Mac watched him put away the items used and he couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked, and _God_ if he didn't sound like a freaking eight year old. Jack could've laughed at how childish the question sounded if it wasn't for the fact that he knew how important the answer was for Mac.

"I should" he stated and when he saw the look on Mac's eyes, he was quick to add "but I'm not" he could see the redness come back to his young partner's eyes and cheeks.

"I'm sorry about what I said. I'm just so angry with myself!" he said, some heat returning to his voice.

"I told you Mac, we're good. I know why you're so angry and, like I said, I won't talk you out of feeling like that. I also get upset whenever I have to take someone down. I just don't want you getting lost on that" Mac would've gone away without answering back if it wasn't for the pointed look he got from Jack.

"I'll try" he said, and then followed Jack out of the bathroom and back to their seats.

"Well, you've got..." he glanced at his watch "three hours to get your head back together. And, also, I'm not gonna be the one explaining to Matty that they're gonna have to do some repairs here" he said, pointing to the bathroom.

"I'll tell her. Figure I'll pay the price for at least one of the things I did wrong today" Mac stated, and Jack had to internally groan. So much for talking the kid put of the guilt trip.

He decided to keep quiet and not say anything else about the matter. As much as he had managed to help Mac work through his anger, he knew from experience that guilt was another battle entirely; one that almost always had to be faced alone. He would be there to support his friend every step of the way, but he would also give him his space to figure things out for himself. After all, how else would he learn? He was still young and, even if he wasn't, every day and every action that we make, helps define who we are. The way we deal with challenges and consequences being an essential part of defining ourselves, and Mac was just gonna have to work out for himself if the events of today would end up making him stronger and wiser, or if they were going to tear him down.  
Ad that, right there, was a piece of Jack's infinite wisdom that he was ready to pass on this partner if it helped him overcome his own feelings of failure.

After all, what are big brothers for?

THE END – FINITO – TERMINADO

 **Yeah, yeah… I know… not my best work. Does anyone have any suggestions on working through anger? I'm just feeling pretty pissed at myself lately and, frankly, I don't even know why. I hope writing this has at least helped me let put some of the frustration I've been feeling.**

 **Also, I don't think I've even mentioned this but: my first language isn't English. I'm actually Spanish, so I apologize for any mistakes you may find in my grammar. I hope they haven't been too many xd**

 **Anyway, sorry for the terrible mood I seem to be in today. Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel better and I promise I'll keep working on the rest of the stories I've started; I just can't promise when I'll finish them.**


	9. Goooooood

**I just have to say: you guys are the most supportive persons I've ever met. Your reviews and messages lifted up my spirits immensely and made my inspiration struck back, hence the new update. Thanks for the kind words and your advices. Earlier today I hit the gym and it did wonders for me. Now I feel less frustrated and ready to head back in tomorrow. Doing exercise is really good. So, of course, I was in the gym, sweating like a pig and picturing this next scene in my head, watching it all play out and I knew, as soon as I got home, I had to sit down and write it so, here it is. Hope you like it and I'll be waiting patiently to see wat you guys think. I decided to play a little bit with humor on this one, I hope you like it!**

 **Summary: just another simple mission in the lives of MacGyver and the team but… wait a second… when are any of their missions simple?**

 **CHAPTER 9: Goooooood**

"Alright Jack, you're gonna want to head left now and, Mac, I just opened the door to your right. You should be inside an empty conference room or something like it" said Riley through their coms as she guided their way through the building they had just recently broken into. They were currently in Canada and their mission was to gather some important information about the ledgers of a criminal organization that operated out of Toronto using an accounting firm as a front for fraud and money laundry.

"Roger that" Jack answered quietly as he ducked left into the hallway to avoid being seen by one of the security guard currently making rounds through the place. Mac had also hidden from sight, waiting for the go ahead from Riley. They still hadn't made it to the director's office where the information was supposed to be, which is where Mac was heading, or to the main server of the whole network, which was Jack's target. They only had to plug a rigged pen Riley had prepared for them and she would work her magic stealing the info from the van parked just across the street.

When the coast was clear again, Riley let them know what paths to follow so they would reach their targets and it wasn't even five minutes before Jack let out a winning comment about founding the thing and getting ready to hack it.

"For the millionth time Jack, you're not hacking the thing if the only thing you're doing is plugging the pen in" Riley said, some exasperation creeping into her voice. Mac, having heard everything through the coms, let out an amused snort.

"Come on Riles, let the old man have some fun" he said, smiling widely at Jack's reaction.

"Yeah Riles, let the... Wait... Hey!" he whisper-yelled.

"I'm sorry. Old man, please, go hack the server" Riley said, cracking up inside the van and laughing at Jack's unintelligible murmur. After just another minute, Mac sobered up and got back to work.

"Umm, Riley? I'm at the main office but the door's locked"

"Hang on" she said, while she initiated the program on the pen Jack had just plugged in, immediately changing keyboards and making sure to open the lock for Mac, her brow furrowing when she couldn't bypass the lock "Houston, we've got a problem" she announced "This door is locked under a different system than the others and it's protected by a heavily encrypted code. It keeps blocking my way in" she finished while still typing furiously at her keyboard.

"Well, that can only mean you're at the right place Mac" Jack added while Mac studied the electronic lock.

"Any chance you can crack it Riley?" Mac asked.

"Just who do you think you're talking to?" she teased, before going back to business "I can do it, but not before another guard finds his way to you"

"We're just gonna have to do it the old fashion way"

"What, you can pick an electronic door now?" asked Jack.

"Not exactly, but _I_ actually can hack it"

"Yeah, whatever" said Jack rolling his eyes at his partner's comment.

"Mac, that's a six-digit code electronic pad. How are you supposed to hack it?" Riley asked.

"If I can see what the numbers are, you can run a cross-referencing program to try and get a hit" he answered, already working on scraping the pain from the white walls around him to have enough dust to blow over the number's keys and see which ones are pressed and which ones never touched "Okay Riley, I've got: 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 0" she punched in the numbers in her laptop and the program started running. Meanwhile, she kept trying to just bypass the program and save everybody the trouble of guessing the code. Even if by some chance there was actually a correlation between the numbers and the company members or history, it was still a long shot. Although, she should've known by now that Mac was the king of long shots. When her laptop beeped with a match, she stared incredulously at the number and smiled "we've got something. The numbers correspond to the CO's daughter birthday: October 28th, 1995" Mac punched in the sequence 102895 and was rewarded with a green light signaling he was free to go in. He smiled, satisfied that the problem had been resolved quite easily and made his way in. He plugged the pen into the computer and then let Riley work.

After _actually_ hacking the computer (Riley made sure to let her two teammates know exactly what hacking meant), she started gathering all the data she could find.

"Guys, I think we just hit the jackpot. I've got the ledgers. Records of transactions, offshore number accounts, clients, jobs. The whole pot is here. Jack, you can unplug the pen now. There's nothing there"

"Copy that" Jack answered and then started making his way up, since the main server of the company had been located in the basement.

"How much longer do you need the pen plugged in?" Mac asked Riley.

"Three more minutes and you're done" after the time was up, Mac took the small device and went to the door, realizing for the first time that the electronic lock worked both ways and having to introduce the code again to get out.

"Talk about paranoid..." he said but then cursed when after hitting the numbers an alarm started blaring, letting everyone know that there were trespassers inside the building "come on! I don't even get three guesses?"

"Mac! What happened?" asked Jack, who now sounded like he was sprinting up the stairs.

"The code to go out must be different than the one to come in" he said, trying to force the door open to no avail "I'm trapped in"

"Hold on. I'm coming" Mac just rolled his eyes. Where else was he supposed to go if he was trapped?

"You better hurry up Jack, I've got three guards heading Mac's way. Actually, they're about to breach the door"

Mac could hear the sounds of the approaching men just outside of the office and he quickly glanced around to see what he could use to his advantage. Normally, he wasn't picky with what he could use, seeing as he liked to improvise and everything, but he had to admit that the person this office belonged to could do with a little interior decoration advice. The room was mostly bare except for the desk, chairs, a file cabinet and the computer. There was definitely not enough time to improvise any kind of distracting explosion using maybe the computer circuit boards because the door could open at any second now. He was already receiving warning shouts to step away from the door.

Making up his mind, he pulled two of the chairs right in front of the door, one behind the other, to make whoever came inside have to bypass the chairs first and then went to the computer, finding the wire that connected it to the power source and unplugging it from both sides: the wall and the computer. He tied a knot at one of the ends and then rolled the cable twice around his hand to get a firm grip on it, preparing to use it as a whip against the men now making their way through the door.

When the first man got in, his eyes went directly to the chairs blocking his path, giving Mac the reaction he needed to creep up on the guy and swing his makeshift whip directly to the guys face, rendering him temporarily blind and then finishing him off with a fist to the face. He dropped down unconscious, acting as yet another barrier between Mac and the other two guys.

Now though, the guards were especting some resistance and so they aimed their weapons on Mac, making him duck out of the way because he didn't want to find out if the men would shoot to kill or maim. Suddenly, at the end of the hall came a shout and a warning shot that Mac knew, with no doubt, belonged to Jack, who had succeeded in catching the third man's attention, making him turn and face the hall. That left Mac to deal with only the second guard, who was already looking for him only to be caught by surprise by Mac's whip slamming into his arms and making him lose his weapon. What Mac hadn't count on was the guy's quick reflexes as he had caught the tail end of the whip, pulling with enough strength to send Mac off balance and almost fall directly into the man, since his arm had been wrapped so securely around the wire. He had to use his left hand to block a fist coming his way but was too slow to avoid the kick directed at his stomach; he did, however, jumped back at the same time the other man's foot connected with his middle section so the blow wouldn't be too hard and he was able to conserve at least some of his oxygen.

Soon, they were both engaged in a hand to hand combat in which no man could overpower the other, at least not by playing fair and that's what had gotten Mac in the end.

Mac had frustrated various attempts from the man to get back to his gun, which was lying at a corner of the office, and every time he failed, the man got angrier and angrier, sending harder punches and making nastier moves against Mac, who had been trying to find an opening to hit the guy in the head and leave him unconscious like the first one. It was just his luck he didn't have time though.

The guard sidestepped a charge from Mac, rolling around him and producing a knife out of nowhere and the moment Mac turned around to face him again, the man thrusted forward, plunging the knife all the way to the tilt into Mac's abdomen and then slamming him to the side wall of the office. Mac gasped and immediately brought a hand down to where the man was still holding the knife, now weak fingers circling the bigger hand and starting to shake. He supposed if he'd had enough oxygen, he would've screamed because suddenly the pain hit him full force: a blinding hot agony exploding in his stomach. Somehow, it felt worse than getting shot. More invasive and definitely more intimate, seeing as the other man's face was only inches away from his and he could see the gleam in the other man's eyes when he started twisting the knife.

"Argh!" Mac couldn't help but let out a pained grunt, clutching the other man's uniform with his free hand, trying desperately to get him away from him.

"MAC!" Riley screamed, because she could see everything that was taking place inside the offices and she had heard loud and clear Mac's yell "Jack! You need to get to him, NOW!"

"What happened? Mac? You okay?" Jack asked, having to duck behind the corner as another round of bullets was fired from the third guard. There was no answer coming from the younger agent, only some painful grunts and heavy breathing, so Riley supplied the answer for him.

"No, he's not Jack. He just got stabbed!" Jack swore out loud and prepared to take the guard down once and for all. He looked behind him and located a chair in what must have been some kind of waiting area, picking one up and throwing it to the hall opening, drawing the guard's attention and bullets before glancing around the corner and taking him down while the bullets weren't directed at him. Once the man was on the floor, he ran to him, kicking his gun away from the limp hands and making his own way into the office, glad that the only other guard remaining upward had his back to him, pinning Mac to the wall, so he could just creep behind him and hit the back of his head with the butt of his gun.

The moment Mac felt the man release him, he started to fall bonelessly to the floor too, Jack only been quick enough to cushion his fall but not stop it completely.

" _Shit_!" Mac exclaimed in an uncharacteristic display of cuss words. Which only led his partner to believe he must have really been in pain. When Jack saw what Mac had in mind though, he was quick to stall the younger agent's movements.

"Nah huh. You can't take it out Mac. It's better if it stays inside" then he directed his next words to Riley "Riles, bring the van to the front door. We need to take him to the hospital" after receiving her complying answer, he focused back on his partner, who was breathing heavily through tightly clenched teeth.

"I'm... fine... just... can't... walk... with... the... knife... in" Mac said between breaths, trying to reach again for the knife.

"Who said you're walking anywhere bud?" Jack replied, getting ready to pick Mac up from the floor and carry him outside, even if it was bridal style.

"NO!" Mac yelled and halted Jack's approach "please... take it... out... hurts... too... much... to move"

"Mac, if I take it out you'll bleed out"

"You can... stop the... bleeding" Mac was stubborn enough to keep trying to make his point and he'd be damned if he didn't try harder, because just breathing with the knife still embedded in was pure agony. He couldn't even begin to imagine the pain he would feel if Jack picked him up and carried him away, all the movements jostling the knife inside of him, no matter how gentle his partner was. The memory of the guard twisting the knife making him shiver and even more adamant to get the knife out as soon as possible. They could deal with blood loss later.

"Mac I-" Jack started.

"Please" but was interrupted by Mac's plea, one that he always found extremely hard to refuse. Then, Riley's voice came through the comm, helping him make up his mind about the matter.

"Jack, I'm already out front. The nearest hospital is only five minutes away" having heard as well, Mac sent a hopeful look up.

"J-Jack... I can... make it. Just... take it out" he said rapidly, because he was starting to run out of oxygen, not being able to breath in due to the pain the motion brought him.

"Riley, call Matty. Have her reach out to the hospital to let them know what we have and get ready for surgery ASAP" he instructed, putting a hand on his partner's shoulder and looking intently into his eyes.

"Give me the numbers" he asked Mac "the real numbers, not the ones you want them to be"

"Five... minutes is good... Jack" Mac answered, referring to how close the hospital was "won't bleed out... just have... to press... stop... bleeding" he let out another grunt as his speech began to become harder to maintain. He nodded to Jack, and the older man made up his mind.

"You better not pass out on me, you hear me? This is gonna hurt buddy" Jack warned.

"I know" Mac whispered and braced himself. No matter how great the pain, he just knew that having the knife removed would feel better afterwards. He winced when Jack took a hold of the knife, a small moan scaping his lips and prepared for what was coming next. He placed both hands on top of Jack's, not necessarily strong enough to provide any help in removing the knife, but trying to do it anyway. His breathing picked up when Jack put his free hand on Mac's chest to get some leverage to pull and without wasting anymore time, he began to take the knife out.

"Ahhhrrrgggghhhh" Mac did scream this time, feeling the edge of the knife cut its way out as much as it had cut its way in. Jack was being careful, he knew that removing a knife too quickly could cause more damage on its way out, so he had set his jaw and taken it out slowly, knowing that his partner must have been feeling it all too well if the tears running down his cheeks were any indication, but he couldn't risk any more damage by going about it fast "Argh huh!" Mac exclaimed again the moment the invading object had been totally removed and then sagged even further on the floor, finally able to draw in a proper (still ragged) breath. Jack immediately dropped the bloody knife on the floor, removing his outer shirt and pressing it down into Mac's already leaking wound. He took a page out of MacGyver's book and also took out his belt so he could tie it around Mac's abdomen, holding the shirt in place.

"Alright Mac, let's go" he managed to get him up all the way to his feet, keeping a steading arm around the slim waist and putting Mac's left arm over his shoulders "you good?" he asked before beginning to move forward.

"Yeah" Mac's voice did sound stronger, and Jacked sighed in relief when they could actually walk without too much difficulty, reaching the van in no time. Jack placed Mac in the back seat, making sure to support his upper half body by placing it against his own and telling Riley to make it to the hospital in four minutes, tops.

She made it in three.

Once there, Jack made his way into the ER following Mac, who was being wheeled by the hospital staff towards the most dreaded set of double doors he had ever encountered, because they were the doors he could never get past to stay with Mac whenever he'd had to be rushed into the emergency room like that; memories of Lake Como coming back to the surface.

He decided to start his waiting routine by heading to the bathroom to wash away the blood completely covering his hands and then making his way to the uncomfortable chairs he was, unfortunately, all too familiar with. After just a few minutes, Riley made her way in after having taken the van to park it away from the ER entrance.

"Jack! How is he?" she asked.

"It's too soon to know. They've just taken him in" he responded, glancing up to find his heart clenching painfully at the look on Riley's face. With watery eyes, she looked just as she did when she was a kid and he stood up to put a hand on her shoulder "Riles, he's strong and he's faced far worse than this. He's gonna be alright"

"But..." she looked up to the ceiling to try and keep the tears at bay "Gosh! I hate this so much. Watching you guys get hurt and not be able to do anything"

"It's part of the job, which is why I always try to make you stay behind if you can work from a distance. It's safer that way" he explained, hoping the situation would make her understand he insisted on her staying at the sidelines, as she liked to call it, not because he didn't think she was capable enough (after all, he himself had been training her ever since Thornton had stopped doing it), but because the field was a dangerous place, even for the best of agents. Riley just nodded and fished her phone put of her pocket "what are you doing?"

"I promised Bozer I'd let him know how Mac was. I'll tell him he just got in"

They had to wait almost eight hours for a doctor to approach them and tell them that Mac had made it through the surgery and that he would be okay. He would have to be admitted for about a week but then he was in the clear to be transferred to another hospital back in the States. Jack knew Matty would make sure he got properly taken care of, so he had nothing to worry about.

The doctor had told them that Mac would be under at least for the rest of the night, so Jack insisted on Riley heading to the nearest hotel and booking a room for the week; that way she'd get a chance to shower, eat and rest before coming back in the morning to visit Mac. Also, there was only one person allowed to stay with Mac throughout the night and they all knew Jack would never leave his partner's side. She was allowed to step into the room and take a look at her friend, apparently sleeping peacefully on the hospital bed, sending a few encouraging words his way before stepping out for the night. Then Jack dutifully placed the chair closer to Mac, placing his feet at the end of the bed and ready to stand vigil at his side.

The next morning, when Riley arrived back at the hospital, she had to admit she was feeling more rested and fresh. When she knocked on the door to let Jack know she was coming in, she was greeted with the sound of laughter coming from the older man.

"Riley!" Mac exclaimed from the bed.

"Hey, you're awake!" she said, coming closer to the bed "how do you feel?" she asked.

"Good. Like... Goooooood" he dragged out the word with a goofy grin on his face; one that instantly had Riley cracking up.

"Boy, are you on the good stuff" she said, looking up at Jack, who was smiling his ears off.

"Uh huh. Don't feel a thing" Mac said, poking at his stomach as if to prove hi statement.

"Hey! Stop that!" Jack reprimanded, battling his hands away. Mac just shrugged.

"So, what about the thingy?" Riley arched her eyebrows at the question.

"What thingy?" she asked right back, not sure what Mac meant.

"The thingy" he said with a _duh_ tone to his voice. Riley looked up at Jack, who was making every effort not to burst out laughing. Mac caught Riley's still confused look and was quick to add "you know, the thingy. The pen, the info. Is all good?" she had to laugh at that.

"Yeah, yeah Mac. It's all good. Matty already has the info, so our job is done"

"Goooooood" again with the dragging out words. Riley and Jack just couldn't help laughing "what?" Mac asked "why are you laughing? You know it's not polite to laugh at someone when that someone doesn't know what you're laughing about. Come on, what are you laughing at?" he kept asking and Riley sent Jack a question of her own.

"Oh he gets like that whenever he's under the influence of something" Jack supplied.

"Like what?" Mac asked, a genuine frown of confusion on his face.

"Chatty" Jack replied "you should see him when he gets drunk. Not that it happens very often, but he has his moments" he told Riley who made a mental note about making sure Mac got drunk on their next get together. Jack then talked to his partner again "Hey, remember Tokyo?" he asked, already unable to contain his laughter.

"What happened in Tokyo?" Riley asked, curious to know what had both agents cracking up like teenage school girls. She was about to ask again when a pained grunt made its way out between laughs and she glanced up at Jack, worriedly.

"Definitely felt that" Mac said, still laughing even though now he had to press his hands to his stomach because the motion was become painful, enough to make Jack sober up and regard him with concern in his eyes, because Mac was still laughing but more pained moans were heard in between laughs.

"You better stop laughing now bud, you don't want to pull the stiches out"

"I... I can't" he said, still laughing. Rolling to his side and scrunching up his face from the pain and effort.

"Jack?" Riley asked, uncertain.

"Mac... Come on, Mac" still nothing. After the next groan, Jack decided he'd had enough "MACGYVER. STOP YOUR DAMN GIGGLING RIGHT NOW!" he roared, using his best Delta Commander voice. The idea worked like a charm, as Mac stopped laughing abruptly and was left panting through the exertion.

"Geez, Mac. You really are like a toddler" Riley said, not able to hide her concern.

"Stupid good stuff" Mac let out breathless.

"Now, now. You love the good stuff" Jack said.

"I loooooove the good stuff" he agreed, going back to his original position on the bed with some effort and help from Jack "think I could get some to go?" he asked.

"Not likely" and Mac's pout was just too cute and funny to not start laughing again. Right then a nurse came into the room saying it was time to change the bandages and to administer another dose of painkillers. Mac's face split into a grin at hearing that and Jack and Riley had to laugh again at his goofy expression. Riley then stepped closer to the bed and placed a kiss on Mac's forehead.

"We'll be back later" she assured him.

"Gooooooood" Mac replied and smiled when he could still hear the laughter of his friends coming from the other side of the door.

"You've got some pretty supportive friends" the nurse commented while she started to work.

"The best" Mac agreed and then silently watched her work. When she was finally done, she addressed him again.

"Ready for your next dosage?"

Mac nodded sleepily and not long after, he felt his eyes drifting shut. He let out a content sigh when he felt the good stuff dragging him towards sleep but he was able to feel a gentle hand slipping beneath his own and give a supportive squeeze that let him know his friends were back with him, which allowed him to just fall back asleep peacefully.

He'd be alright, because he had his friends by his side.

THE END – FINITO – TERMINADO

 **So? What did you guys think? I don't know why I have this idea of Mac hating hospitals but once he's under the good stuff, he'd be ridiculously cute and high as a kite. Of course, that can only happen when there's no emotional stuff to deal with. I realized I've focused a lot in dealing with emotional turmoils, so I decided to keep this one a bit less deep and more into the side of action and good old physical whump. Also, I know I focus too much on Mac and, poor guy, the bad stuff always happens to him but, like I said in the first chapter: I'm a sucker for Mac whump. I'll try to involve some Jack whump as well for those of you who love that, but I don't know how good I can make it.**

 **I'd love to see your thoughts on this chapter!**


	10. Vacation Time (Part 1)

**Hello again! I'm back with another chapter. This one's a little bit shorter because is the first part of a multi-chapter-inside-of-a-one-shot-collection thing. I'm not sure how many part it'll have, but it won't be super long. I hope you guys can still like it and I'm dying as always to see your comments.**

 **By the way, I'm super glad you guys liked so much the previous chapter, I had lots of fun writing it and thank you so much for your comments. Waking up to find so many reviews is priceless. I hope you like this new story!**

 **Summary: the team finally gets some vacation time and decide to spend their free days relaxing in a lake cabin by the woods. Food, sports, music, fun and sun are just some of the things that await them on their vacations. That, along with some…. and long, long nights of…. You'll just have to read to find out what xd**

 **CHAPTER 10: Vacation Time (Part 1)**

The voices were so loud they were on the verge of making Mac's ears bleed, but none of them were as loud as Jack's.

"Bozer, turn that up will ya?" Jack requested, to Mac's dismay.

"Turn it up?" Mac almost had to yell "any higher and we'd get pulled over for sound disturbing the streets!"

"Chill out Mac!" came Bozer's voice from the back seat "we're on vacation man!"

"Yeah!" Riley added "Like, honest to God two-week vacation. No R and R, no sickness leave, no mission. Just two whole weeks to work on our tan and our appetite" she finished, patting her own belly. Thankfully, as the conversation got longer, Bozer decided to turn down the volume on his super enhanced (thanks to Mac) new set of portable speakers, which made them all stop singing along for a while and let Mac's ears and head rest for a little bit. But the others were right: this was a well-deserved vacation and he had to enjoy it as everybody else was. Who knew when they'd get another chance like this?

"Alright, alright. Turn it up Boze. Just, make sure to throw some Fall out Boy into the mix" he finally conceded.

"And Beyonce" Riley was quick to add.

"Don't forget Aerosmith baby!" Jack said, and soon enough they were singing along again to the sounds of their favorite music, Mac right along with them.

They were just leaving Los Angeles behind and getting ready for a five hour trip to another state where Riley had booked them a lake cabin. It had actually been Jack's idea, and everyone else had been just glad to accept. They had been looking forward to this trip for about a month now and their preparations were nothing if not through. Bozer had made food not just for two weeks, but for about a month: frozen portions filled the cooler as well as tons of beer, soda and other beverages. Jack had taken care of the fishing equipment, making sure they had enough bait, hooks and fishing rods. Mac had brought a soccer ball, a volley ball, a portable ping pong table and a frisbee while Riley had offered to take care of snorkeling equipment: diving masks, breathing tubes, small oxygen tanks and whatever other stuff was necessary for it. To say that they had come prepared was an understatement and, yeah, they were excited.  
They were having such a good time already that the five hour drive didn't feel as long as it should've been and, soon, they were unloading the vehicle and opening the front door of the cabin.

"Wow" Riley exclaimed "this looks so much better than the photos on the web page" when they all entered, they couldn't help but be amazed at how new and pristine everything looked. There was a large open space concept that included the living room, kitchen and dining room. A dining room that had a table for at least 12 people. There were various types of chairs, cushions, sofas and couches all over the living room and each and everyone looked as inviting as the next one. The kitchen immediately brought Bozer's attention as every home appliance looked new, shiny and very high quality. Mac's attention was drawn to the giant TV and home theater setting and went to inspect it like a kid on Christmas.

"You really outdid yourself with this one Riles" Jack commented, setting his bags on the floor and looking around the cabin.

"And Phoenix is paying for it" she added, satisfied that she had been able to find such a great place for her friends to enjoy.

"Amen to that" was Jack's reply before he strode to the kitchen area to pat Bozer on the back "what do you say we get started on lunch buddy? I'm starving!"

"Are you starving like: can't wait I'm dying to eat starving or I'm dying to eat something amazing starving?" Jack tilted his head to the side, seriously considering the question.

"If you give me a snack I can wait for something amazing" he decided.

"Well..." Bozer started rummaging trough the bags and bags of food he had prepared "how about some nachos?" he offered.

"Then I can wait" Jack finished, taking and opening the bag of nachos and passing them around so everyone could enjoy them. Bozer immediately began to work.

While their friend worked on something that already started smelling delicious, the rest of the gang went about choosing bedrooms and setting up their beds. All the bedrooms and one of the bathrooms were located on the second floor, being at least six different rooms, which allowed them to choose one each and not have to share like they've always done in the past.

"It's a wonder this place was available and would take such a small group" Mac commented.

"The rental people back in LA said that they actually almost never get groups bigger than five. It's a shame, it would be pretty fun to have the cabin full of friends. Having it half empty is actually kind of creepy"

"Well, you know what they say: the bigger the better" Jack said, still holding on to the bag of nachos.

"I call this one!" Riley said and set about depositing her things in the twin bedroom to their left. Mac also took a twin bedroom and Jack settled for one with a king-sized bed which left Bozer with other three available rooms to pick. Maybe having all that space to themselves wasn't such a bad idea after all.

When Bozer called them down to eat, they had already unpacked every one of their bags and the extra equipment for the sports and activities they were planning on doing, knowing that they wouldn't waste a second of any day. When they came down the stairs, they were greeted with a long table full of delicious treats and four plates lining one of the ends. When they saw what they'd be eating, a collective cheer went up in the air as everyone rushed to the table, stomachs already grumbling.

"Tacos!" Jack exclaimed "Oh Bozer, I love you man" they all laughed and dove in. Riley hadn't been kidding when she said they would work on their appetite, because an hour later, they were sitting around the table, plates empty and stomachs full, planning out the rest of the day and weeks.

"So... Fishing, snorkeling and football, right? We can leave volleyball and ping pong for tomorrow, along with a hike around the woods to get to know the place" Jack surmised.

"Playing cards and movie night ought to be a constant every day" Bozer added, to which everyone nodded their heads.

"You know, I'm all for starting on the wild side of life today but I need a nap first" Riley said, stifling a yawn and stretching on the chair "five hours in a car and the equivalent of the Flintstones mexican get together has left me burned" come to think about it, everyone felt tired and heavy. The first day of vacation always ends up being almost entirely about resting and decompressing so everyone agreed to a nap before starting on the activities they had planned.

"Alright, let's meet up for fishing at 1800 hours" Jack said.

"Jack, this is a vacation, not a boot camp training trip" Bozer commented.

"Still no reason to waste minutes Boze. When do you think we'll get another opportunity like this? Every other time we've gotten free time, at least one of us is in no condition to be doing any kind of sports. We have to make these two weeks count"

"Alright, alright. I hear you"

"I think I'll sort through the channels and see what we've got" Mac said, smiling at how enthusiastic Jack was about this vacation.

"I'll go work on my beauty sleep" Riley announced, yawning once more and getting up to go to her bedroom.

"I cooked, so I ain't cleaning up" Bozer declared, also standing up from his chair and heading upstairs to pick up a room.

"Great" Jack mumbled, looking down at all the empty plates and heaving a sigh. Clean up duty was _not_ how he had envisioned starting his vacation.

Eventually they all ended up taking a nap before heading out to the lake so they could start on the fishing. Mac had brought out the cooler with beer and they were sitting by the duck wearing their swimwear and working on their tan (as Riley liked to say) while waiting for the fishes to start taking the bait, all the while not even dimly aware that the ones being hooked, were them.

To be Continued…

 **I have great ideas for this multi-chapter story and I hope I can play them out exactly like I see them in my head. I know this chapter lacked the usual action or whump from my other chapters but I needed to introduce the story first. I hope it was still enjoyable and I'll go work on the next chapter now.**

 **I literally have no idea how many parts this story will have, so we'll just see where it takes us. I thought about posting this as a different fanfic altogether, but it probably won't be thaaaat long to stand as a multi-chapter fic. So I decided to just post it here. What do you guys think? I hope you don't mind xd**


	11. Vacation Time (Part 2)

**I'm glad to see that you guys liked the previous chapter so much and I decided to write a little more for you today. Thank you all so much for your reviews and don't worry too much about the first parts of the story not being exactly action-filled, because the story is just building up to lots and lots of that. I hope you enjoy this second part!**

 **Summary (again): the team finally gets some vacation time and decide to spend their free days relaxing in a lake cabin by the woods. Food, sports, music, fun and sun are just some of the things that await them on their vacations. That, along with some…. and long, long nights of…. You'll just have to read to find out what xd**

 **CHAPTER 11: Vacation Time (Part 2)**

"That's three to one" Mac said as he and Bozer high fived each other.

"Riley you were supposed to cover him!" Jack accused.

"I tried! He's too fast!" she defended herself, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"That's right. My man is really good at soccer" Bozer said, patting Mac on the back.

"You up for another 10 minutes?" Mac asked, playing with the ball in his hands.

"Uh uh, not me. I'm gonna enjoy the lake now because it's too hot here on the outside" Riley declined, already shedding her tank top and shorts and revealing her bikini, intent on jumping into the lake.

"I think you're just a sore loser" Bozer said, sending a grin her way when she regarded him with a glare "and we are the unquestionable champions of the day!" he exclaimed, one again high fiving Mac.

"Just wait until we play volleyball. You are so going down" Riley replied before diving swiftly into the lake.

"You know, a swim sounds like a great idea" Jack was the next one in, soon followed by Bozer and Mac. It was safe to say that if they'd had neighbors close, they would have complained about the noise since the water splashing war the team had gotten into had reached a whole new level; and after what Jack described as several attempts from Riley to drown him, they ended up relaxing a chilling out, floating in the lake. Mac and Jack then decided to do some laps, unable to resist the pull of some good stress reliever exercise while Bozer and Riley treaded water and talked about what movie they would watch that night.

It was Riley's scream that brought a halt to the partner's swimming and had a concerned Bozer reaching out for her.

"Riley! What's going on?" Bozer asked, when Riley kind of jumped around, looking down as if she could actually see beyond the dark water of the lake.

"Something touched me. It... It grabbed me, I swear. My foot…" her eyes were blown wide and her breathing had become quick. Mac and Jack reached their friends and asked the same question as Bozer, getting exactly the same answer "Are you sure there're no animals in the lake? Like crocodiles or something?" Riley asked, already calming down since nothing else had brushed her leg ever since the first time.

"There're just fishes here. I looked it up before coming" Mac answered "it must have been a big fish, that's all" Riley just nodded, choosing to remain silent after that. Noticing her reluctance and the way she kept glancing at the water, Jack decided to intervene.

"What do you say we head inside now? The day's already cooling off" and Riley didn't need to be told twice. She was out of the lake like a lightning, grabbing her towel and securing it tightly around herself. She hadn't had wanted to say anything to the guys because she didn't want to sound like a scared little girl, but whatever she had felt under the water, it hadn't felt like a big fish; but it also didn't have any other explanation, because she could still feel the ghost of the touch in her right ankle and the burning memory had the shape of a hand.

She shuddered. There was no way. She must have imagined it. Yep, she imagined it.

She decided to forget about the incident and not let it spoil her vacations. After all, it was only their first day. Once inside, she went to the bathroom upstairs to take a shower before dinner.

MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG

"Fetch" Jack said, forcing Mac to reach down to the pile of cards and take one, sighing when the card he took would be of no use to him. Seeing his sad expression, Riley said.

"Come on, is it that bad to play cards without counting?" she asked.

"I don't count cards" Mac answered, trying to defend the way he played.

"You know, you should have seen the way Mac could rip Big Jonah off his money when we were in high school" Bozer said laughing "it was hilarious"

"Yeah, until he beat the crap out of me when he figured out how I could do it"

"Yeah, that wasn't so fun" Bozer agreed but then his face lit up again "but now you're a secret agent dude. Can you imagine running into him again? I think you could give the guy a run for his money now" Mac snorted, secretly agreeing with his friend.

"What is it that you call it Mac? The counting cards thing?" Jack asked, trying to remember the way his partner liked to describe what he did. Mac rolled his eyes at him.

"I've told you before Jack. I don't count cards, I just understand the game. That's all"

"Yeah, well, what you call 'understanding', the rest of the world calls 'cheating' so sober up and lose the sad kicked puppy face when playing with us. You were the one that agreed to play fair and not count the cards" the older man chastised with no real heat in his voice.

"It's understanding, not counting" Mac tried again, letting out another frustrated sigh when the next card he took was less useful than the last. The other ones sneakered but kept playing non-the less.

In the end, Mac won the game, not being able to avoid the calculations that always took place in his mind. That's why they had ended up playing for the right to choose that night's movie, and not their money. No one was in the mood to be a few bucks poorer than before. When Mac picked the movie, Bozer complained.

"Are you kidding me? We're in a cabin in the middle of the woods and you wanna watch a horror movie?" he asked, his voice sounding just a little higher than normal.

"Don't tell me you're scared" Riley mocked him, getting comfortable on one of the couches.

"Me? Scared? Nah. I was just pointing out the irony of the situation. You know, in case anyone else saw it too"

"Yeah right" Jack said "quit your moaning and let's watch the movie. Geez! Sometimes I forget how tiring it is to be surrounded by kids"

"Old age getting to you brother?" Mac asked, finishing with setting up the movie and choosing a seat.

"Old age... I'll show you how old my punches can make you" he threatened, to which everyone else laughed. The rest of the lights were turned off and the play button hit. The movie started with an ominous black screen where a single bright dot began to grow bigger from the middle to the edges of it. By the time the first 15 minutes of the movie had gone by, the popcorn bowl had been emptied and the four of them had ended up cramped together on the couch Riley had picked earlier. This was one scary movie alright! But, either way, they had a blast.

MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG

"Please remind me to never piss an old lady off. They can be the mother of all vengeances" Bozer said, getting out from under the blanket he had used to cover his eyes whenever the movie scenes became just too much for him, which made him appreciate the talent of the director but at the same time hate how well the film had been made.

"That was... Intense" Riley stated at the loss for a better word.

"It wasn't that bad" Mac said.

"I gotta say buddy, I won't be eating anymore treats tonight" Jack supplied, to which everyone rolled their eyes.

"We all know you're gonna be rummaging the fridge at midnight so..."

"Yeah, I probably will" Jack agreed with a smile "still, no more horror movies for a while"

"How come you like horror movies so much?" Riley asked, also standing up from the couch and stretching her legs.

"I don't know, I just do"

"Well, tomorrow we're definitely betting something else on the game. Like who gets to get up earlier than the rest and make breakfast" she proposed and both Jack and Bozer raised their hands in agreement. Mac shook his head, thinking he better got away with losing the game this time.

It was already past midnight and, after checking every door and window was properly closed (because being a secret agent made you paranoid even on vacation. Totally not because of the movie), everyone headed upstairs for the night.

If Riley hadn't slept wearing her headphones listening to music, or Bozer hadn't been such a deep sleeper... Maybe if Mac's brain hadn't decided to finally shut down and let him sleep soundly and Jack's body hadn't relaxed so much, maybe, just maybe, they would have caught a glimpse of the shadow passing in front of their doors.

 **To be Continued…**

 **I've decided to just have fun with this little piece so I'm not gonna worry about how many parts the story will have. I'm more focused on ending the chapters when I think it's proper. Hopefully you're not getting too freaked out with this one, it's just something that came to my mind and I thought: why not?**

 **Let me know what you think and if you have any idea what the hell is going on in that cabin because I, for one, have no freaking idea! I'm just letting my imagination run wild on this one xd**


	12. Vacation Time (Part 3)

**Okay, Part 3 is here! Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed and I hope my fast pace of posting doesn't make you lose interest in this fic… if so, please tell me and I'll see what I can do. Although I would take fast updates over writer's block any day…**

 **Now, let's see what's in store for the team now. WARNINGS: scary stuff ahead so… yeah.**

 **Summary (again): the team finally gets some vacation time and decide to spend their free days relaxing in a lake cabin by the woods. Food, sports, music, fun and sun are just some of the things that await them on their vacations. That, along with some…. and long, long nights of…. You'll just have to read to find out what xd**

 **CHAPTER 12: Vacation Time (Part 3)**

"Jesus Christ!" Mac exclaimed when he set foot on the floor the next day and jumped back on the bed when he felt the creepy creature start to climb one of his feet. When he saw that there was not only one but _two_ , he stood up on the bed and got ready to just jump all the way to the door. Before he could take his chances as superman though, the rest of the gang showed up at his door wearing almost identical sleepy faces.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Jack.

"Don't come in" Mac warned, bringing his hands up to halt any approach from his friends "there're two spiders in the room"

"Two what!?" Riley asked, backing away from the door.

"I see one!" Bozer exclaimed, pointing to the foot of Mac's bed were one of the spiders was starting to make its way up "you're gonna want to get down from there" he said, swallowing while the hairs at the back of Mac's head stood on end at catching sight of the climbing spider. He wasn't particularly afraid of them, but he definitely didn't like them.

"Okay, I'm gonna jump. Get out of the way" he announced before leaping from the bed and landing near the door, where Jack readily extended his right arm to pull him all the way out of the room.

"How can there be spiders in here?" Riley asked, disgusted, and still as far away from the door as possible. It was Mac who answered.

"Well, we are in the middle of the woods so it shouldn't be surprising to find some animals can make their way in"

"That's no animal. That's a freaking monster" she replied, not taking her eyes from the hairy spider now walking on top of Mac's bed.

"Alright, let's get them out" Jack offered and went down to collect a broom from the kitchen. Riley following close behind because she did not want to be close to that bedroom once the battle to take the creatures out began. When Jack came back upstairs, he was holding a broom in one hand and a trashcan in the other "okay Bozer, I'm gonna flush the spiders out and you're gonna trap them with the trashcan upside down"

"Me? Why me?" Bozer asked indignantly.

"Because... I say so, okay? Now, let's get a move on. I'd like to start the day sometime soon. Lots of activities planned for today"

Bozer grudgingly agreed and after what could've passed as a scene from the movie Tarantula, the spiders were safely locked away inside the trash can, one that Mac offered to take outside to release the creatures to save Bozer some horror.

Glad that the spider crisis had been averted, the team set about their business, filling their stomachs with a big breakfast and getting ready for their walk around the woods.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

"Soooo, how many is that now Bozer?" Riley asked smugly before turning around and bumping her fist with Jack's.

"20 to 13" he said, defeat clear in his voice.

"So one more point and you're gonna be begging for a rematch!" she exclaimed, which got everyone else lifting their eyebrows at her "what? I like to win" she said matter of factly.

"I can see that" Mac said laughing.

"You know, I'm glad we're on the same team and all but it's not like we're in the Olympics. We're not even playing with a real net" Jack said, getting ready to serve the ball. They had been playing volleyball for the past 20 minutes after coming back from their hike and having lunch, Riley making good on her promise to bring Mac and Bozer's team down and taking the competition to a whole new level.

"Winning is winning Jack. You don't like it, feel free to join the loser team over there"

"Ouch girl!" Bozer said "I knew you had a competitive streak in you but _damn_..."

"Just serve the ball already" she instructed to Jack, who threw the ball over himself and then hit it to start the match again.

It was a clean service, one that Mac awkwardly received to have Bozer pass the ball back to Riley, who defended perfectly to give Jack the ball, waiting for the setting before jumping and hitting the ball hard enough that when Bozer tried to defend it, it bounced on his extended arms and ended up getting off their improvised court. One that Mac had manufactured using some wires for the net and hundreds of small twigs to mark the court itself.

"BOOM!" Riley let out "in your face!" Jack was also grinning from ear to ear when he turned around to high five Riley with both hands.

"Gotta admit, winning feels good"

"You play really well Riles. I didn't know you liked this so much" Mac observed. She shrugged.

"Well it _is_ my favorite sport and I used to play in high school"

"Awesome. You know, maybe instead of softball we could form our own Phoenix volleyball team to go up against other agencies. With Riley in our team, we would surely do better than playing softball" said Bozer.

"For the record, I played too, you know? Not all of the points were thanks to her" Jack added, making sure to get his fair share of glory "and I don't think there's like a league of volleyball between agencies dude"

"But we could totally start it!" Bozer insisted, excitedly.

"How about we just settle for playing at the beach in LA from time to time?" Riley suggested, her competitive streak waning down a little bit now that the game was actually over. Bozer agreed to it and was looking forward to playing some more when they got back to LA.

"How about some snorkeling now?" Mac asked, excited about studying the water and everything it hosted. Riley glanced at the lake reluctantly, remembering yesterday's incident and knowing there was no way she would set foot inside that lake again.

"You guys go ahead, I'll just sunbathe for a while"

So the guys spent the rest of the afternoon diving into the lake and snorkeling their way around, staying in the water at least until twilight before heading back inside the cabin to start making dinner preparations, also making room for the night's mandatory game of cards.

Riley decided to take a shower, longing for the running water to wash away the small uncertain feeling that had settled over her since the guys had gone snorkeling, not linking the fact that she couldn't enjoy the activity because she had been too creeped out to go back into the water again.

She stepped into the hot water, relishing in how good it felt on her skin. No matter how hot the day outside was, she could never shower with cold or even just fresh water, she couldn't stand it, so the bathroom was quickly filled with the fog from the hot water. Enough that when she turned the water off and stepped out, wrapping the towel around herself, it was no surprise that the mirror had been completely fogged, making it impossible to see her own reflection. That didn't stop her from still glancing into the mirror and she gasped when she saw a word standing out in the middle of it, as if someone had drawn the letters by just sliding a finger through the fog.

'YOU!' It said and she frowned.

"NOT FUNNY GUYS!" she yelled so she could be heard all the way down the stairs. Oh she could almost bet it had been Jack, she could even picture the man cracking up at his ridiculously unsensitive joke and, not caring that she was only covered with a towel, she wrapped her hair inside another one and got out of the bathroom to yell at them from the top of the stairs "I hope you fall out of bed tonight in your sleep old man!"

"Yo Riley, what's going on?" Jack asked, making his way towards the stairs.

"Your little joke? Not funny" she repeated, some actual heat in her words.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. Not liking how angry she sounded and not understanding what she was saying.

"What you did in the bathroom. How the hell did you get in without me hearing you?" she accused and now all lightness left his voice when he answered back. Kind of offended if he was honest with himself.

"Now, really, what are you talking about? I didn't go into the bathroom while you were there" Riley was now doubting her previous accusation because Jack looked genuinely lost to what she was saying and he would've been laughing by now if the joke had been his.

"What's going on?" asked Mac when he came closer to the stairs, Bozer close behind.

"One of you thought it would be funny to go into the bathroom and leave a message on the mirror" she said and when no answer was forthcoming. She kept going "well, it wasn't funny and I didn't like it"

"Riley, none of us has been upstairs since you went up" Mac calmly explained.

"Come on Mac, one of you must have done it" she insisted "come take a look" she invited and the three of them made their way upstairs and into the bathroom that was still completely fogged because of the hot water.

"I don't understand" said Bozer "what are we supposed to be looking at?"

"What?" Riley asked, making her way into the bathroom "it's right... There" she finished, gaping at the now perfectly fogged and perfectly word-free mirror "it was there! I swear! It had the word 'you' written on it" Mac came closer to inspect the mirror.

"Nothing's been written in this mirror. If it had, we'd be able to see even a trace of the uncondensed path left behind"

"Well, I saw it" Riley stated, not liking the turn this had taken at all. The guys eyed each other wearily before Jack talked again.

"Look, maybe today you spent too much time under the sun or something. That can make you fill ill right?" he asked, looking at Mac, who nodded.

"I'm not feeling ill Jack. I saw something and now it isn't there" and knowing how stupid that sentence sounded she just gave up "you know what? Forget it. If it's not there, it's not there" she said, making her way out of the bathroom and into her own room to put on her pajamas. After all, she was still wearing only a towel.

The guys cleared the bathroom and made their way downstairs to continue with what they had been doing before. None of them wanting to admit it but all of them feeling just a tiny bit of reluctance inside their chests.

Later that night… that's when things started to go to hell.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

In the end, they chose not to watch a movie. All of them were tired from the day's activities, hiking, playing volleyball and snorkeling so, after dinner and just a couple of card games, they decided to just chill out by themselves. Mac had gone upstairs to his room to read a book he had begun to fall a little bit behind on; Bozer stayed down watching TV with Riley and Jack set up to take a shower before bed.

There are certain things you can expect to encounter at the bathroom of a rental vacation cabin in the middle of the woods, like the toilet getting stuck, the hot water running cold; maybe something a little bit more creepy, like a spider or a cockroach here and there. What happened to Jack, though, was certainly not on that list.

He had been standing under the water, with his back towards the wall, rinsing shampoo out of his hair when it happened. The first thing he noticed was the smell: metallic. At first he hadn't made the connection because, how could he? Then he felt it, the change in the water's texure and, lastly, when he opened his eyes, he saw it, the color: red.

"What the f..." he said, getting away from the running water (ejem, not water) and staring at the liquid pouring out in its place. He reached for the handle to turn it off but no matter how much it turned, the shower wouldn't stop. He glanced down at himself and noticed he was covered in the red liquid, a sudden heave making its way up his throat. He quickly stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel around his waist, the white material quickly absorbing the red stains. He turned towards the sink and turned the water on as well, relieved to see the liquid coming out was just that, water. He tried shutting off the shower again to no avail and seeing as the red liquid kept coming out, he opened the bathroom door.

"Mac!" he called "guys!" he was still inside the bathroom holding into the door and shouting out at his friends. His heart was hammering in his chest with... What, exactly? Fear? Apprehension? Confusion?

"What's up Ja-" Mac was the first one to arrive since he had been already upstairs in his bedroom and when he took a look at his friend, concern spiked into his voice "what happened to you? Are you okay? Is that...?"

"Blood. Yeah" Jack grumbled glancing at the top of the stairs where Bozer and Riley had just come from.

"Wow" she exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Bozer asked.

"There's blood coming out of the shower" Jack explained and let Mac in when the younger man made his way forward, intent on inspecting the shower.

"What?" Bozer asked, not sure he had understood completely "are you sure it's blood? Because, you know, it could be-" but Jack interrupted him.

"I think I know blood when I see it Bozer" he said with the tone of voice he only used when he was on the job, and not the joke-making kind of tone "listen, I know none of you would've done something like this but, just to be sure, is this some kind of joke?"

"Of course not Jack" Mac said, coming out of the bathroom and cleaning his hand with a towel "that's definitely blood" he stated.

"Then we have a problem" Jack said. He turned to look at Riley, who had gone uncharacteristically quiet and was staring at the blood on Jack's chest with an expression on her face that was a mixture between fear and disgust "what you saw on the mirror. It really was there, wasn't it?" she just nodded and he wiped a hand up and down his face "alright, listen up: I'm gonna clean up and change. We'll meet in the living room in five minutes"

They all had to admit that they were more than a little freaked out right now. Especially Riley, who couldn't stop thinking about the incident at the lake and then the word in the mirror. Every logical part of her brain was telling her that there must have been an explanation for what she felt and saw; there must have even been an explanation for the blood in the shower too, but that other part, the part that had the horror movie they had seen the day before still present in her mind, told her that there was something else going on here. And no, she wasn't ashamed to ask Bozer to walk into her room with her so she could grab her laptop before heading downstairs.

Jack had taken a clean set of clothes and gone the bathroom downstairs to clean up as best as he could, not wanting to even find out if the water from this shower would turn into blood or not, and so just making use of the water coming out of the sink to rinse the blood out of his hair, face and chest. By the end of it, he was as clean as he could be after being all covered in blood and soon reunited with his friends that were all waiting for him by the couch. He saw Riley typing furiously in her laptop with an angry frown on her face. That was okay, Jack thought, as he would take angry Riley over scared Riley any day.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing! That's what I'm doing. There's no signal. I wanted to log in and see what I could find out about this place, something other than what they advertise in their web page, that is, but I've got no connection"

"We've also tried our phones. They're not working" Mac added, a hand rubbing his forehead in deep concentration "well, we had service yesterday. So, whatever's going on, it must have just happened"

"I don't like this" Jack said, still using his no nonsense tone of voice "if all this is really happening and after what Riley saw in the mirror... That means we're not alone here" he said and the collective silence that followed was accompanied by the turn of heads, glancing all around them in search of something.

"What do you mean like... Ghosts or something? Because I don't think my pants can deal with that right now" Bozer said.

"What? No" Jack answered, reaching towards his back and drawing his gun from the waistband of his jeans. He had decided to take it when he had gone into his room to fetch a clean set of clothes.

"Then what...?" Riley started, only to be interrupted by Mac, who's logical brain had supplied the only real explanation there could be for what was going on there.

"We should get out of here" he stated, his voice also adopting a sense of urgency.

"Ditto" Jack agreed "keep your phones with you but let's just leave everything else. No time to pack. We'll come back when we figure out what's going on" he instructed and went to the kitchen counter where they had left the car keys the day before. Mac went to open the front door.

"Ahh!" he exclaimed, drawing his hand back as soon as he had touched the handle and pressing it hard against his stomach.

"Mac! Are you okay?" Riley asked, who had been directly behind him, ready to get out of that cabin.

"Yeah, I'm fine" he grunted, now flexing the fingers of his right hand to test their mobility "the handle's electrified" he explained, and they all took a step back.

"Just what the hell is going on!?" Riley asked, now real fear making her voice sound higher, but before anyone could respond, all the lights inside the cabin went out at once, plunging them into a deep darkness barely broken by the glare of the moon high in the sky filtering in through the windows.

And then Riley shrieked.

 **To be Continued…**

 **Well… what did you think? Things are starting to get creepy, aren't they? Or were they creepy from the start? Lol**

 **I think this story will have like two more parts to make a total of five parts. Will that be okay with you? Nothing's set yet, of course, so anything can happen. I hope you're enjoying this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it, taking a shot at writing horror, hopefully it's not that bad.**

 **So, any comments?**


	13. Vacation Time (Part 4)

**Hello. I'm sorry it's taken me so many days to post Part 4 but I swear it's not because of writer's block. Actually it's quite the opposite, I've been concentrating hard on the MacGyver world and the one shots because this is turning out to be such a stressful week! I should find out this week if I got into college or not and I'm literally jumping out of my skin. I'm nervous and anxious all the time and it's been a little bit hard to just sit still and actually write the chapter, but rest assured, I am thinking about the stories just to get my mind off the college thing.**

 **I know this chapter isn't exactly long, but hopefully the creepiness makes up for it so you can consider yourself WARNED!**

 **Let's just skip the summary on this one since, by now, you all know what this is about even if we still have no idea what's going on lol**

 **CHAPTER 13: Vacation Time (Part 4)**

The moments the lights went out, Riley shrieked out of surprise.

"Damn it!" Jack cursed, bringing his weapon around again and trying to cover every space around them. The place was too big for just one person with a gun. Mac reacted quickly and turned on the flashlight of his phone, halting Riley's and Bozer's intention to do the same when he told them it was better to conserve their batteries and use just one flashlight at a time.

"We should try the windows" Bozer supplied, which had Mac going over to the dining table and picking up one chair, coming closer to one of the windows and throwing the chair at it, expecting it to burst into a million pieces but, instead, getting the chair thrown back at him when the thing bounced off the reinforced windows.

"Bulletproof glass?" Riley asked "who the hell puts bulletproof glass in a vacation cabin?"

"Probably the same people trying to scare the crap out of us" Mac responded, already working on the possibilities to get out of there.

"People?" Bozer questioned "I'm pretty sure this is more on the supernatural side of things"

Bozer, there're no spirits or ghosts or old ladies doing this. Someone, a human one, is behind this" Mac replied turning then to Jack, whose silhouette he was barely able to see until he pointed his phone's flashlight at him "you could try shooting the window until it weakens and then we can finish breaking it with something sharp"

"I don't know man, I'd have to use the whole clip and there's only so much ammo a guy brings on vacation. I don't like being weaponless against who knows who"

"Jack, if it gets us out of here… we can't stay to figure out what's next on the agenda, and we won't be weaponless" he finished, giving his partner a knowing look that he hoped could be caught in the darkness that surrounded them.

"Yeah, alright. Get away from the window"

Mac stepped back to let Jack do his job while reaching into the pocket of his shorts and fishing out his Swiss Army Knife. No matter where he was or what he was doing, he always made sure to keep the trusty tool handy. The three younger members of the team backed further into the living room when Jack took his position in front of it and raised his gun.

"Fire in the hole!" he warned, before emptying his clip all over the window, making Riley and Bozer reach out to cover their ears, still not accustomed to the loud sounds of a gun being fired. When the gun ran out, Jack stepped back "all yours" he said, gesturing for Mac to come closer. The blond agent took out the sharp knife and proceeded to hit the window right in the middle, yelping when the weapon fell out of his hands when it came into contact with the window.

"What?" he asked no one in particular, bending over to retrieve his knife from the floor and getting ready to try again. When a second time didn't work, Jack ordered him to stop before he ended up hurting his hand even more "That should've worked" Mac grumbled, rubbing his throbbing right wrist.

"What now?" asked Bozer.

"We can't leave" Riley said, hugging herself against the chills running through her body. Then Mac glance out the window next to the one they had been trying to break.

"And I don't know how much that would've helped. The car tires are flat" he motioned for Jack to take a look and the older man then left the keys on the table.

"Well, that's helpful" he said with sarcasm.

"I don't understand. If we can't leave, what's supposed to happen now?" asked Riley. No one had a correct answer for that question and there was a long uncomfortable minute filled with silence before Mac decided to get proactive again.

"I'll check the basement and see if I can get the power back on" he stated, already heading for the only door that lead to the lower level of the cabin.

"Wait for me partner. I need to grab the extra clip from upstairs" Jack told him.

"It's okay, you should stay with Riley and Bozer anyway" Mac assured him.

"How come?" Bozer asked and Mac regarded him with an ominous expression.

"Because I think we're not alone in the house. Whoever's doing this and however way they're doing it, there must be someone in here with us" how could he say something like that and be so calm? Riley thought, but what she asked was something different.

"And you want to go to the basement all by yourself?"

"We could use the lights back on" he said as a way of explanation. Jack intervened right then.

"Remember what we've talked about doing stupid stuff? You wait for me. Now, I think our best bet right now is to stick together, which is why we'll clear the upstairs floor and then got down to the basement together" he said, leaving no room for argument on his next sentence "Riley and Bozer, go grab a knife from the kitchen. We're already low on weapons as it is" they both nodded and proceeded to do as they were told, feeling slightly rattled about having to rely on a kitchen knife for protection since neither of them really knew how to use them as weapons but, it was better than nothing, they supposed.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Riley avoided looking into the bathroom where they could still hear the water running from the shower, if the thing had gone back to being water that is, and together they went into Jack's room where he rummaged into one of his bags and took out the only extra clip he had brought. He made a mental note always to pack backup ammo for the backup ammo before clearing the rest of the rooms.

He had to admit, a party of four clearing room by room with a gun and kitchen knives made them an odd sight, but Jack was positive it had been the right call, especially after what they found out in the last room, one they had never entered before.

"Do you smell that?" Mac asked, sniffling the air around him "fresh paint" he stated.

"And that's important because..." Bozer asked.

"No other room smells like it, so why did they have this room recently painted?" he took out his knife again and went to one of the walls, he started scraping the painting which fell away easily enough. Riley and Bozer offered to help with their own knives and, soon enough, they discovered what laid underneath.

"That's blood splatter" Jack stated, coming closer to inspect the small portion of the wall the team had revealed "someone died here" he said.

"More like, someone was killed here" Bozer corrected, to which everyone else agreed.

"I want to get out of here" Riley said, with a tone of voice that made everyone else turn to look at her in concern. She sounded scared, terrified actually and the look on her face made Jack remember one night that he had spent with her mother at their house and a young Riley had been terrified because someone had tried to break in the house to steal "this is not... Why is this happening? Who's doing this? How are we going to get out?" her breathing was starting to quicken and Jack came over to her to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, making her look up at him while he gazed into her watery eyes.

"Calm down kiddo, we're getting out of this just as we've gotten out of everything else. They don't know who their messing with"

They backed away from the room and headed downstairs, Jack taking point on their little procession while Mac took the rear. Once the older agent deemed it save to go back down again, the rest of the group followed. Mac and Jack looked at each other over the dim light of the moon plus the still turned on flashlight of Mac's phone, sharing a look of confusion; they were both thinking the same thing: where are they? There was no one upstairs and apparently there was none down here with them but someone must have done all the things that had happened to them in the bathroom. Someone must have locked the door and electrified the handle. Someone must be in there with them... So, where was that someone?

Mac then walked purposefully to the basement door. If they were really gonna get out of there, then fixing the lights would be a good start, if only to help take away the look of fear on Riley's and Bozer's eyes... And the fear inside his own thudding heart. No matter how old you were and how innocent you knew the dark was, when you're trapped inside a cabin with God knows how many people trying to scare the hell out of you, well, being plunged into darkness was a very effective stressor.

He tried the doorknob and wasn't entirely surprised to find it locked, not really considering it a problem since had already lost count of how many doors he had bypassed in his life. He reached for a pin inside his swiss army knife and got to work, satisfied when he heard a click and the doorknob turned.

Jack immediately stepped in front of him, his gun raised high as he opened the door completely. Mac pointed his flashlight to the set of stairs right in front of them and got ready to provide Jack enough light to clear the room while he walked in first, followed closed behind by Mac, who had asked Bozer to turn on the flashlight of his phone too since the light the moon helped provide them wouldn't reach the dark underground room.

Jack took a few steps down the stairs, bending low to be able to see completely inside the room once the wall to their right allowed him to. Mac had just taken his second step down the stairs when a hand appeared from the space between staris and grabbed his ankle firmly, making him jump in surprise before the hand pulled on the limb and sent him flying downwards after losing his balance, crashing into Jack and making them both fall the rest of the way down the stairs.

At the same time Riley yelled his name when she saw her friend fall, the basement door slammed shut and she jumped back in surprise. Thank God Bozer had turned on his flashlight. They tried opening the door but it was locked again; they yelled for their friends but got no answer in return. What they did hear though, was a knock on the window next to the front door. When they whirled around, they gasped in surprise, Riley having to bring a hand up to her mouth to keep herself from yelling.

There was a figure outside of the cabin, wearing dark clothes and a hooded black sweater. His face was completely covered by a black mask and dark sunglasses, making it impossible to see who he was. Bozer felt his heart jumping in his chest and Riley backed up to press her back against the basement door.

Nothing happened for the next couple of seconds. The guy in the mask just staring at them silently from outside the window, creeping the hell out of them and making undeniable fear run down the young, still truly inexperienced agents.

Riley then turned back around and started banging even harder on the door.

"Jack! JACK!" she shouted.

If he could hear her, he gave no indication and when the man at the window knocked again, the tears she had been so valiantly trying to hold at bay started running down her cheeks.

 **To be Continued…**

 **Okaaaaaaay, I am so freaked out right now I better just stop writing this chapter right here. Literally, I'm scaring myself! I'm also having fun making the guys go through their own personal horror movie.**

 **Do you think it's too much? Do you still like it? I think the story is just getting wings of it's own and flying in its own accord. I really have no idea how this will end… I just hope you're still enjoying it.**

 **Would you mind sending me your thoughts of this chapter? How are you guys liking this story so far?**


	14. Vacation Time (Part 5)

**Please forgive me for taking this long to update but it so wanted to get this chapter right because it's the final part of Vacation Time. I decided to wrap the story up with a total of five parts and this part is the longest. Also, I think it's the longest chapter to date, so I hope the wait was at least worth it.**

 **This chapter is FULL of action so I hope you enjoy that a lot. I apologize to anyone who might have thought I was copying the plot of the movie Friday the 13** **th** **because, believe or not, I have never seen it. I hate horror movies so much that I can't even stand watching trailers. I know it doesn't make any sense since I wrote this whole mini multi-chapter story, but it's the truth.**

 **Also, one of my biggest challenges is making Mac do his scientific stuff and that's why you don't see that happening too often in any of my one shots. I'm better at writing emotional conflicts and good old fighting scenes so that's where I stay most of the time. If there are inconsistencies with what I have Mac doing on the stories and how things would actually work in real life, I apologize. My strengths are subjects like art and literature, not science or anything like that. I hope that doesn't make Mac too unMaclike for you guys.**

 **Anyway, that being said, I want to thank you all for being so supportive with this fic and especially with this scary story because I was taking a leap out of my comfort zone. I had a blast writing this. I can only wait to read your thoughts on this last part.**

 **CHAPTER 14: Vacation Time (Part 5)**

Jack felt the whole weight of MacGyver slam into him, making him lose his footing. He tried to stop them both from falling all the way down the stairs by reaching his arm and holding into the railing. The only problem was that he couldn't hold both his weight and Mac's plus the momentum of the fall. In the end, they were a bundle of flailing arms rolling down the stairs, landing with a thud on the floor.

Mac had made the mistake of also trying to break their fall by putting his hands on the floor, but they had been falling so fast that the only thing he managed to do was hurt his right wrist even more so, with a grunt, he ended up falling on top of Jack. He had also bumped his shoulder against the stairs and his left knee was throbbing, although he didn't think it was twisted or anything, it was just the hit against the floor.

Jack, on his part, had landed on his back, his head bouncing painfully against the floor and all the oxygen being driven out of his lungs by Mac's body impacting on his own once the momentum of the fall had ended. He was about to ask Mac what had happened but the younger agent spoke first.

"Jack. Jack, get up" he said urgently "someone's here" he said, remembering why he had tripped in the first place and feeling a shudder run down his spine at the thought of someone grabbing into his foot like that. He had lost his grip on the phone on his way down but he could still see the light shining dimly a few paces away, casting that part of the basement in an eerily light. The place was huge, filled with shelves and boxes and he had the unmistakable feeling that they were being watched... From several places.

Jack got up quickly, too quickly, and swayed on his feet for a second, his head pounding in rhythm with his heart. He positioned himself in front of Mac, holding the gun up and squinting into the dark. He saw a shadow move.

"Hey!" he yelled, startling Mac "quit your games and show yourself" no answer was forthcoming and Jack took a few steps forward, ready to end this madness once and for all, but a desperate shout of his name from upstairs had him losing his focus and glancing up. That's when the shadow jumped from behind a shelve and slammed into him, sending him crashing to the floor once more. He didn't dare fire his gun because in this darkness, he wasn't going to risk hitting Mac unless he could get a sure lock on his target. The person was quick, getting up from on top of Jack and hiding in the shadows again.

When he saw Jack being thrown across the room, Mac had intended to go to him and help but was stopped by a pair of strong arms holding into him from behind, squeezing hard enough to make Mac feel like he was in the grasps of a huge snake. At first, he had been startled by the sudden appearance, since the big man had made no sound at all and then he was assaulted by pain flaring up in his already sore shoulder but, after that, he wasted no more time and started to work on getting free. They had to go back upstairs and help Riley and Bozer because the screams he had heard coming from them were filled with terror and desperation. Could someone be attacking them too?

Mac braced himself and lunged back with his head, effectively ramming it into the man's nose and making him loosen his grip enough for Mac to get one arm free, which he used to drive his elbow up and hit him on the nose again. When he felt himself being let go, he turned around, ready to defend any attack coming from the guy but the other man stayed in his place for a moment, a gloved hand holding into his nose. Mac couldn't see his face since it was all covered in a black ski mask but he thought the man seemed surprised at encountering resistance. Jack had been right, these people had no idea who they had messed with, and remembering the kind of psychos they were dealing with, Mac gave the man no chance to overcome his surprise; he balanced himself on one leg while driving the other one hard into the guy's stomach. He didn't wait for him to recover before sending a blow to his left ear, stunning him a little and then finishing him off with a fist to his temple. The man went down but Mac wasn't sure if he was unconscious or not. He whirled around to go find Jack when out of nowhere, a fist hit him square on the cheek and he staggered to the side, his hand coming up to clasp his pulsating face.

He ducked another hit directed his way and backed away from the new attacker, going further into the basement. He could hear the sounds of a fight taking place in the general direction of where Jack and his attacker had gone, but he didn't dare take his eyes off the menacing figure standing in front of him. The man cocked his head to the side, studying him and giving him the creeps before reaching into his belt and pulling out a batton like the ones used by cops. He sincerely hoped it wasn't an electrical one. He would soon find out.

Mac jumped back when the man made a first move to hit him on the side with the weapon and Mac hit a shelve that must had been bolted to the floor since the structure held his weight firmly. He felt around with his hands, keeping an eye on the approaching figure, in search of anything useful to defend himself with. His left hand wrapped around something thin but solid and he brought it around to block the next swing of the batton. It turned out the object he had picked was a wrench, so both weapons clashed in midair as if they had been wielding swords.

Both men grasped their weapons with both hands then, above their heads, and the fight became a strength contest in which, unfortunately, Mac was losing. He had time to think that he should really start working out with more weight or something, because he was struggling to keep the batton away from his face more so than he was pushing to hit the other man with his wrench. But, determined not to be hit again, he decided to push to the side instead of pushing straight forward, moving the wrench diagonally and sidestepping to the right when the other man lost his balance thanks to the change in positions. Mac took advantage of the moment and when his weapon was free, he brought it down to hit the man in the back of the head. He stayed down.

Mac thought it was best to keep the wrench in case another psycho decided to show and went looking for Jack, only then noticing that there were no more sounds coming from the rest of the place. He frowned and went to round some kind of corner made of shelves when he came face to face with the barrel of a gun. When they both recognized each other, Jack withdrew his gun and Mac let out a sigh of relief.

"You okay?" Mac asked. Jack wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Ecstatic" he answered, clearly angry "we need to get back up" he said, remembering Riley's screams and feeling worried because they could no longer hear them.

"You go up. I'm gonna fix the lights and see if I can get the signal back up so we can call for help" Mac said, wanting to head upstairs to help his friends too but understanding that they needed a way to contact the outside world to get Matty to send backup their way by contacting the police. She would make the request happen way sooner than if they called the police themselves and had to explain what was going on. Jack was about to agree when they heard a noise further into the basement. They were instantly back on alert but Jack had had about enough of these people, so the moment the fifth attacker showed up, Jack took him down with a single shot now that he was positive he wouldn't hit his partner by mistake.

"Can you bypass the door?" Mac asked, handing Jack the pin he used from his knife. They had to assume the door had been locked again since neither Riley nor Bozer had opened it after they had fell. It was either that, or something had happened to them. Jack took the pin.

"Get the damn signal and the lights back on" he said before nodding to him and then going back up the stairs.

Mac nodded back, promising to fix whatever had been tampered with by the crazy psychos. It wasn't often that Jack acted so serious on a mission, he was more of the type to be extremely lethal and efficient, and then make a joke about it, mocking the bad guys and always keeping a good mood in general. Some other times, not so much. There were certain missions when he was all business, not taking any crap from anybody. Mac guessed this was one of those missions; not that it was supposed to be a mission at all. He sighed, thinking about how the perfect vacations had turned into something straight of a horror movie so fast.

He followed the light of his phone's flashlight and found it somewhere close to the stairs. He bent down and picked it up, then went around searching for the brakes that controlled the lights of the entire cabin, running different scenarios through his head about what kind of mess he would find.

He could faintly hear Jack speaking loudly upstairs, but he couldn't quite understand what he was saying, which made it all the more urgent to get back up there and help his friends. Finally, he found the box sticking out of a wall in the corner opposite to the stairs after having to navigate the maze of shelves and junk stored in the place. Seriously, who needs that much stuff on a cabin in the woods? _'Psychotic killers_ ' his brain supplied.

When he opened the box though, nothing seemed out of order or damaged. _Weird_ , he thought, because he literally just had to flick the brakes back on. He focused on the tags under each break, signaling which part of the house they corresponded too and when he found one that read 'door' and that was already on, he smiled; the brake must've controlled the electrical handle of the front door. He turned it down. Then, proceeded to turn up all the rest, leaving the one of the basement for last, not that the single lightbulb provided much help but it was enough to turn off his phone's flashlights. When he turned around though, he jumped out of his skin.

" _Shit!_ " he exclaimed at seeing the hooded figure standing so close to him. How can they make no noise at all? And where the hell did they kept coming from?

The other man (that would be their fifth attacker of the night? He was beginning to lose count) stood there, studying him, no weapon in hand as if he was just waiting to see what Mac would do. Mac decided to talk.

"Who are you?" thankfully, his voice was steady; actually, it was annoyed. Better to not show these people any ounce of fear "why are you doing this?" he wasn't sure what kind of answer he was expecting and he actually didn't care, he just wanted a few minutes to think of a way out of the basement "you know, I think you guys have watched way too many horror movies. Personally, I think the spiders were an overkill" the other man remained silent, and Mac was able to study his opponent: he was tall and muscular, his arms hung at his sides, not limply, but tense with anticipation; his feet were slightly apart and his posture rigid and straight. Could this guy be military? Or at least trained enough to be one? "So, what's your game plan here? Kill us all and then redecorate for the next victims?" he asked, still no getting a response "what's the matter? Cat's got your tongue?" for a fleeting moment Mac though they guy would never move, but suddenly, with a speed that should've been difficult for someone his size, he lunged forward.

Mac tried to sidestep him but he was corralled between the wall at his back and metal shelves on either side of him. The only way out was to go forward into the charging bull coming straight at him. Since there hadn't been too much distance between them in the first place, Mac found himself lifted of the floor and slammed against the wall, the brake's box digging painfully into his back. He wasted no time though, so he brought his right elbow down to shove it into the man's back, since he had bent down to charge Mac at his middle. The blow was enough to get his feet back on solid ground but, unfortunately, it wasn't enough to free him. He managed to block a few punches and hold his own for a few seconds, but when a particularly vicious punch made its way to his abdomen, he doubled over, gasping for air.

Mac had always known he wasn't the best at hand to hand combat; he could hold his own, sure, but when he was in the Army he had been an EOD specialist, so it's not like he got into too many fistfights; and now there was no doubt that this guy had training. He anticipated Mac's moves and quickly realized what his weaknesses were: like leaving his right side unprotected and landing weak hits with his left arm. The other man took advantage of that.

He ducked one of Mac's right hooks and while he was bent down, he delivered another hard blow to his side. Instinctively the blond agent tried to hit him with his left arm, only to have it grabbed in mid swing and twisted painfully behind his back. He grunted, since his shoulder felt like it would be pulled out of its socket before the man slammed against the wall again, this time making the box dig into his chest. His hair was pulled back and his head rammed against the wall, making pain explode on his forehead and causing his vision to blur.

Mac refused to lose the battle though, and kicked his leg backwards, hitting the man's knee and making him take a few steps back. He wiggled his arm free and turned around, getting a hold of a card box in one of the shelves and throwing it against the man. He bent down to pick up his wrench, which he had lost in the struggle, and got ready to keep fighting. He just needed to exchange their positions and make the man stand between him and the wall so Mac could run for the stairs.

Remembering that the shelves were supposed to be bolted to the floor, he tested his theory by leaning heavily into one and confirming that it would hold his weight completely; he picked another box from it and threw it at his opponent, directly into his face, effectively distracting him enough so he could jump into one of the shelve levels and bypass the guy, who was still getting dust off his eyes. Once he was on the other side, he kicked the man in the back and turned around to leave, only to be met with a push that sent him flying into the big man's already open arms.

 _Come on!_ He though, _another one?_

Mac's arms were grabbed from behind, holding him firmly against the big man's chest while the new guy approached menacingly. Mac fought to free his right arm and start hitting someone with his wrench, but the hold was strong and he didn't have time. When the new guy reached him, Mac leaned his weight against the one holding him from behind and lifted his legs to protect himself, but in the tight space, he got a leg thrown into the shelve and then a fist to his already sore stomach once the man found an opening. Mac held the grunt in, not wanting to give these guys any satisfaction but now getting increasingly worried when he really couldn't find a way out of his current predicament. He tried to get free by throwing his head back and hitting the man's nose, only managing to loosen the hold but not breaking it completely, which is why the bigger man was able to easily turn him around and send him flying against the wall again. Mac hit the wall and then the floor, dazed, and gasping for air. At least now he was free, although he was back to being cornered. They didn't give him time to get up from the floor because kicks and fists started raining over him, forcing him to hunch in on himself to try and protect his body as much as he could. Now he could feel blood seeping from the gash on his forehead, his nose and one corner of his mouth.

Suddenly he felt a strong pair of hands grab him by the throat and lift him off the ground, only to be slammed back down. The hands around his throat started to squeeze and soon he wasn't able to get any oxygen in. He tried kicking out, but the second man had taken a hold of his legs while the big one choked him to death. Mac clawed at the guy's fingers but nothing worked. His vision was turning black.

And then he heard a yelp and his legs were freed. He brought his knee up and hit the man still on top of him, startling him. Mac extended his arm and took a hold of his wrench, only this time he was actually able to hit the guy in the temple. He hit him three more times until he was absolutely sure the man would stay down and then he sagged back to the floor, his limbs shaking with effort, trying and failing to take in a breath.

"Mac!" Riley came to kneel beside him. She had been sent down by Jack to see why Mac was taking so long after getting the lights back on, while the older agent and Bozer dealt with what was going on up there. She had followed the sounds of the struggle inside the maze of a basement and when she saw two guys on top of a desperately moving MacGyver, she had picked up a heavy object and brought it down into one of the man's head, knocking him out. Now, after Mac had gotten the other man away from him, he laid on his side, heaving with his fists clenched tight "Mac, are you okay? Mac!" finally he was able to draw a shaking breath and he gasped at how satisfyingly good oxygen felt. He gulped several more times and concentrated on breathing again before getting into a sitting position with Riley's help.

"Ri... Riley" his voice was scratchy "thanks" he rasped.

"You okay?" she asked again. He nodded "come on" she said, and helped him to his feet. He swayed and had to lean into her for help but after waiting for the dizziness to pass, he straightened up and was able to stand by himself.

"What's going on up there?" Mac asked.

"There's a freaking army up there Mac" she answered, worry clear in her voice "we're surrounded" Mac checked his phone, hoping against all hope that the signal had been restored when the lights went back up, not even sure about a connection between the two facts but hurting a little bit too much to think straight right now. He wiped the blood flowing from his nose and winced when his hand came into contact with his busted lip.

"There must be a jammer or something. We still don't have a signal" Riley supplied, realizing what Mac had been looking for.

"Then we need to find it. If it's anywhere, it's here" the poorly illuminated basement was the perfect place to hide a signal jammer, if the thing was even inside the cabin. Together, Mac and Riley searched the place holding into their respective weapons in case another psycho decided to show out of nowhere. Mac asked Riley to tell him everything that had happened since he and Jack had fallen down the stairs and so she started telling her side of the story.

"... then after the first one, Jack came up the stairs and more guys appeared on every window. They're just standing there, doing nothing, saying nothing even though Jack's been bitching them off. It's like they've formed a circle around the cabin and we can't get out, but they're not coming in either. It's seriously creepy stuff" she finished. Mac didn't answer back, he didn't exactly know how. What they needed to do was fix the signal so they could call for help. Preferably before the bad guys decided to breach the house.

"Maybe they're not coming in because they also think they can't. The door's supposed to be electrified" he finally said.

"The door _is_ electrified, remember?"

"Actually no. I turned it off when I got the lights back on, so we can actually go out now. The problem is we'd be walking right into them"

"Can't we just blow them up? I mean, you can create a bomb right? We go out, blow them up and get out of here" Riley seriously suggested. Mac smirked, thinking Riley had spent too much time with Jack.

"I guess I could make..." he started to say, but had to stop when his vision tunneled and darkened around the edges. He felt his legs grow weak and a weird tingling sensation assaulted his battered body. He reached for one of the shelves to steady himself but he still staggered and went down on one knee. He felt a burning sensation on his esophagus but he didn't let himself vomit. He swallowed down several times until the nausea receded while Riley ran a soothing hand up and down his back. After a while, he was able to speak again "even if we knocked them all up, we have no transport and running around the woods at night is out of the question. We also don't know how many of these guys actually are. They could be a hundred for all we know and they could be hiding in the woods"

"Mac..." Riley said, not really caring about her explosion idea right this second "are you hurt? What happened?" even in the dim light, she could see her friend was deathly pale, sweating and shivering at the same time. She knew he must have been hurt from the fight but exactly how hurt was he? He just shook his head.

"I'm fine. Probably have a concussion. That's all" he answered, opening his eyes when he realized he had closed them.

"Oh! Is that all" she said sarcastically, making a move to help him off the floor.

"Wait!" he suddenly said, and reached to the side under a shelve were he saw a blinking green light. His hand wrapped around a small object and Riley smiled when he showed it to her. She took it from him and, feeling herself on her wheelhouse, she turned off the signal jammer.

"Did it work?" she asked, when Mac checked his phone. This time, a genuine grin split open his face.

"We're in business" he wasted to time and dialed Matty's number. Riley could almost cry with relief when she picked up on the first ring, always prepared for emergency calls, even if they came in the middle of the night. Together they explained everything that was going on and she promised she would send help ASAP. The call was disconnected and Mac and Riley laughed in relief.

Their happiness was short lived when they heard a single gunshot from upstairs and their expressions sobered up. Riley helped Mac back to his feet and together they reached the stairs. They were making good progress going up, considering Mac had to lean more and more on Riley with every step they took up, but when they reached the middle, he had another dizzy spell and had to drop down again; this time with a growl of frustration because he felt physically fine, well not fine but not too badly hurt either, but he knew his concussion plus the momentarily lack of blood and oxygen flow to the brain from being so viciously choked like that, made him weak and unstable. Riley knew she wouldn't be able to carry Mac all the way up the stairs.

"Bozer!" she called. After a few more tries, he appeared on the doorway and took in the scene before him, quickly going down the stairs and helping Mac make the rest of the way up. When they finally arrived, Mac told them that he was okay now and could stand by himself, leaning a bit on the wall for support and feeling creeped out again by the covered faces staring at them from every window of the house. What creeped them out the most though, was the guy staring at them now through the opened front door. So they figured the door wasn't electrified anymore. _Great_ , Mac thought.

It turned out Jack's shot had been a warning one, which is why the man hadn't come in yet. Jack was still pointing his gun at him, daring him to make a move. He also didn't dare look back at his friends and take his eyes off the door.

"What now?" Jack asked, his voice hard and loud "you walk in and I take you down one by one" he warned.

Suddenly, another masked man showed up at the door and, fast as lightning, threw an object inside the house. A split second later, there was a blinding flash and a muted yet unbearably loud bang that sent everyone inside the cabin crashing to the ground, disoriented and confused.

A stun grenade! Jack's lethargic brain supplied for him and he tried to recover as fast as he could, holding into his training to provide cover for his team. He was able to fire a couple of shots in the general direction of the door, but it had been too late. The men had come in and were now rounding on them. These people didn't have guns. They didn't have any other weapons beyond the battons some of them carried, which only promised a slow and painful death for their victims.

Well, to hell if he was going be become one! Jack thought and then sprung into action. He could tell the men had training, and it was hard to fight them off, especially if he was stunned, but it turned out they didn't have to hold them off for that long because without anyone realizing exactly when or how, the cabin had been swarmed by police officers ordering everyone to get down on the ground. One by one, the men wearing ski masks were neutralized and the team of Phoenix agents were helped to their feet. All except for one.

Mac was on his knees, the palm of his hands against the floor and he was breathing heavily, trying to hold back the returning nausea. The stun grenade had been hell on his already hurting head and he was finding it difficult to focus on his surroundings. His hearing was off, his vision blurred. He literally felt like he had been blown up by a bomb.

Riley and Bozer were led outside the cabin by police officers and offered warming blankets. There were no paramedics on scene yet but an officer had already called an ambulance for Mac, since he was the one that appeared the most hurt.

After making sure that Riley and Bozer were being taken care of, Jack positioned himself beside his partner, which is where he belonged, and helped the young man settle down. Mac wasn't freaked or frantic, he wasn't even breathing irregularly anymore. He was just beat, by the looks of it and Jack cursed himself for having left his partner unprotected down that basement.

"How many were they?" Jack asked, knowing that Mac must have been in one hell of a fight. He was bleeding from a nasty gash on his forehead and a cut on his lip. His nose must have leaked at some point because there were smears all over it, although it had stopped by now. When Mac looked up, he had managed to sit down a lean his back against the wall.

"Two" he said, a small smile playing at his lips "you should see the other guys"

"I bet they look as beautiful as you right now"

"Actually, it was all Riley. If she hadn't come down when she did..." he left the rest unsaid.

Paramedics finally arrived and the four of them were driven to the nearest hospital to check them over. The only one needing a room for a few hours was Mac, whose concussion was being closely monitored so he could be released in the morning. He planned to get the hell out of that state at the brake of dawn.

The rest of the team had gathered to wait inside his room after giving Matty a full briefing on the phone; they would either way have to do it personally when they got back home.

They had to keep Mac awake until the doctors said it was safe for him to fall asleep and, even then, he would have to be woken up every hour or so to check him out. Since everyone was still too rattled about their whole ordeal, they had no problem letting their nerves get the best of them and keep them talking nonstop.

The next day, they went home.

It was unbelievable how the perfect vacation, the one they had been planning for a month, had been so magnifyingly ruined by a group of psycho killers that apparently had been haunting and killing tourists on vacation for years. How no one had noticed that, they had no idea. Ironically, they were granted some R and R time to recover from the experience and the few injuries sustained. They decided to just stay at home.

They still had two weeks left so they spent their time eating delicious food and going to the beach. Playing volleyball and losing miserably against Riley again. Playing cards and having a good time, trying to forget the horrors they had lived through on that cabin.

One night, when it was time to pick a movie, everyone was adamant about it.

"We are never watching a horror movie again. Like, ever again" Bozer said.

"Agreed" surprisingly, it was Mac who said that.

"If we're watching a movie, I need something funny. An animated film actually" Riley stated. Her mind needed to watch only harmless movies from now on "like Frozen or something"

"We are _not_ watching Frozen!" Jack protested and then he begged "please"

They ended up singing along to 'Let it go' under their breaths, secretly enjoying the movie and openly enjoying the fact that there was no place like home.

None at all.

 **THE END – FINITO – TERMINADO**

 **Pff! Finally! It is done! I've had so much fun writing this story. I already have a few ideas for the next chapter and I think there's gonna be some Jack whump involved. Like I said, I need to take advantage of my own vacations because if not, I just don't have time to write so much and so fast. I hope you don't mind.**

 **Please let me know what you thought of this chapter and the story in general. I promise no more scary stuff for a while. There was a point when I freaked myself out so much I just had to stop writing and continue the next day. It was still so much fun!**

 **P/s: sorry I wasn't able to answer your reviews of last chapter individually, but I just haven't had time. Don't worry, it won't happen again.**


	15. Something About Mules

**Okay, so here we are! First I want to thank you guys so much for such an incredible response to my last story "Vacation Time". It's been one of my favorites and I'm just glad you all liked it too.**

 **I've been working a lot on this story and I would like to dedicate this one shot to Jo1966 who gave me the prompt that inspired the story. I'm sorry it took me so long to comply. Next, I'd like to thank the amazing Gib for being so kind to land a hand with information because I really have no idea about how life in the Army is, and I wanted to get a few certain details right even if I still left a few things just vague enough so you guys could make your own pictures. Any mistakes you find when describing the facilities or the procedures of military life, I take full responsibility. Like I've said before, I focus more on the emotional aspect of the characters, so please keep an open mind about technical stuff, they're just there for the good of the story.**

 **I'm excited about this story because I've been wanting to post it for a while and it's officially the longest one yet (almost 9.000 words!). Also, I should warn you that I decided to make some changes about people's names. This story is related to Mac's and Jack's life in the Army and you could say it belongs to the world of Chapters 4 and 5 (The Expert) although you don't need to read those to understand this one. I decided to change the names of the Delta team and I'm using the names of a T.V Show I just recently started watching and that's got me hooked. It's called Flashpoint and if you haven't seen it, I recommend it. The series already over, but I'm watching it all for the first time. The characters in my story have nothing to do with the characters on the show, I just took their names because I liked them. Is that allowed?**

 **Anyway, sorry for the longest Author's Note ever. I'll just continue at the bottom.**

 **WARNINGS: canon typical violence but with mentions of abuse.**

 **Summary: Mac hides an injury from Jack and the team but when Jack finds out, how will they all react to the truth behind how he got it?**

 **CHAPTER 15: Something about mules**

"Okay! We're clear" Mac announced after making sure the land mine they had just encountered wasn't going to send him and the whole Delta team into oblivion.

"You sure there, bug?" TJ asked in his usual mocking tone, one that always made Mac cringe on the inside but, never-the-less, he answered as he would've done any other member of the team.

"Positive" fortunately, no one could pick up on his angry tone or expression because no one knew him that well yet, not even Jack.

"Alright, let's get this over with and go back to base" Jack said, trying to keep the conversation as minimal as possible. He knew TJ was still having trouble adjusting to their fairly new teammate and he also didn't have the best of tempers, so Jack tried to keep his team as focused on the job as they could.

It had been a little over ten months now that MacGyver had been assigned to his unit, under Jack's own request (not that anybody knew that), right after his team had rescued him from that God forsaken place, and although everyone had been a bit reluctant before (considering Mac's age and even younger looks), slowly the other guys had been warming up to him and accepting that he was just a brilliant kid, able to handle a bomb with his eyes closed and his hands tied behind his back. He was _that_ good.

TJ though… TJ didn't like him. Pure and simple. And there was nothing Jack could do about that; as long as they behaved and got the job done, watching each other's backs when necessary, they could live with it, and that's exactly what they had been doing ever since.

The job they'd had to do that day had been simple: scout some terrains for signs of insurgents and disable as many landmines as they could while on route. So far they had come up against three, and every time TJ asked the same question with the same amount of mocking in his voice, making use of the nickname they had all given Mac upon his arrival. They hadn't meant anything more offensive than him just being the new guy, but sometimes TJ used the nickname way too often. They actually almost never went by their nicknames, contrary to what was standard, so maybe Jack ought to have a little talk with the guy.

Eventually they made it back to base, having to dismantle just one more land mine and they were told they had a few free days on base before having to be shipped out to a new assignment.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

Almost a week later, the team was settled inside the recreation center, gathered around a table and playing a game of cards Mac was totally owning. There were other soldiers making use of the room, playing pool, watching T.V, and most of them turned around when Spike let out a curse.

"Damn it! Again?" he complained, watching as the younger of them all extended his arms and collected the winning pot resting in the middle of the table. MacGyver just shrugged.

"He's cheating" TJ stated, having lost already a couple of bucks to the kid.

"No, I'm not" Mac defended himself, and the rest of the guys laughed at his innocent expression. Well, all except TJ.

"Damn kid's just smarter than all of us put together" said Parker. TJ snorted.

"Anyway, I'm getting my money back" he said.

"Don't count on it" Mac replied, not really paying attention to who he was speaking to after the group fell silent for a second. He wasn't one to normally talk back or engage in even the slightest of banters, not even when directly provoked; truth be told, he was kind of a silent person. So everyone (almost everyone) took it as a pleasant surprise, since they had undertaken the difficult job to make Mac one of their own. Laughter suddenly erupted between the group and a firm hand (Jack's) clasped his shoulder playfully.

"So he speaks! The walking brain talks!" the blond sent them all a timid smile (more like is own self) and began collecting the cards scattered around the table to begin a new game. TJ suddenly lunged forward and took the cards right out of his hands.

"No, no. I'm dealing this time. You're not gonna be cheating us again" Mac just sighed.

"That's not how I win" he stated "it's just math and probability"

"So you do cheat! You count cards!" TJ exclaimed, a kind of (totally) evil gleam in his eyes.

"No, I don't! Understanding the game is not the same as counting cards" Mac countered, resorting to using the tone of voice that usually made whoever he was talking to feel stupid, like the first time he had held up a conversation with Jack and had seemed like a teacher lecturing a child about getting the answers wrong on a test. Jack wasn't even sure the kid did it on purpose, it was just who he was.

"Knock it off TJ, it's just a game" Jack intervened, noticing the tension starting to build around the table. TJ decided to throw the cards on the table and get up.

"Whatever, from now on, I'm not playing if he's playing" he signaled to Mac with his head before backing away from the table and turning to leave the room. For a moment, there was just silence in the room, and then Jack reached for the cards to begin dealing himself.

"He's just a sore loser" the older man stated and the other ones agreed. Mac chose to remain silent during the rest of the game.

After maybe an hour, Sam, Parker and Spike said their goodbyes and left Jack and Mac alone, playing one last game of cards. The younger man looked up when he noticed Jack had been staring at him for a while.

"I'm not counting. I promise" he said, before he could be accused of cheating. Jack held up his hands in a surrender gesture.

"I'm not saying you are"

"You're thinking it"

"You can't know what I'm thinking"

"I can guess"

"I was actually gonna ask if you were alright" Mac looked at him in confusion then.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Jack picked up on the defensive tone and backed away a bit. He was actually the only one in their unit to whom Mac spoke so much.

"You know, TJ's gonna come around eventually" Jack said.

"Yeah, you've been saying that since day one" true, Jack inevitably thought. They continued to play for a while before Mac suddenly asked.

"Why did you ask for me to join your team?" the older man couldn't hide his surprise.

"How did you know I made the request?"

"I figured it out" Jack chuckled, he should have known the genius kid would figure it out.

"Well, I've been told I'm the only one that can actually stand you so… it would happen eventually after we met"

"Right" was all Mac answered, lowering his gaze back to the cards he was holding in his hand. Jack, noticing the subtle change in the younger man's demeanor, was quick to add.

"Shit, kid. I was joking" Jack was actually surprised by the quickness with which Mac had accepted his stupid joke about him being the only one able to stand him. He knew TJ totally didn't like him, but the rest of the team genuinely did.

"Whatever. I'm used to it"

"What, my jokes?" Jack asked, a small smile of relief making an appearance.

"People not liking me" and the smile was gone.

"Aw come on. I'm sure you're overreacting" Jack tried, reaching for a new card on the table. Mac didn't answer and they finished their game in silence with him letting Jack win the last round.

Mac announced he was heading back to the barracks while Jack crept up to talk to the men watching TV; he was famous for spending as much time as he could inside the recreation center, watching all the movies available to them sometimes more than twice. It drove Mac crazy that Jack had undertaken the task of introducing him to the best classics of his time, saying that Mac had been too young to truly appreciate them and not realizing completely that by arguing that, he was basically calling himself old, which was something he fought against 24 hours a day.

Mac suddenly smirked, thinking about one time Jack and Parker had gotten into a heated argument about who looked the oldest. Parker had lost.

The young soldier was heading back to their barracks when someone bumped into him from behind, and not just someone, but TJ.

"Finish ripping everyone off their money bug?" Mac's heart began to race, but he kept walking either way, the sooner he got to the barracks the sooner TJ would just leave him alone "hey, look at me when I talk to you!" he whispered-yelled, because he didn't want to bring anyone's attention, not that there was anyone around anyway. Somehow TJ had the best of timings to always bump into him when there was no one else around to see. TJ had reached for Mac's arm to halt his progress, digging his fingers harder than necessary and even though the younger man tried to get free, TJ's grip was rock solid. He guided Mac to the side of the gym facilities and slammed him against the wooden wall "I want my money back" he stated, almost face to face with Mac.

"I don't have it" the blond replied, trying again to break free but only managing to make TJ dig his fingers even more.

"Bullshit!"

"I promise, I don't have it. Jack won the last game" Mac said, foolishly thinking that he could get away with that.

"You lost the game so I couldn't take my money from you, didn't you?" TJ accused.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Mac defended "just let me go!" he insisted, keeping his voice low as well. When his arm still wasn't freed, he brought his free hand up to try and pry the other man's fingers open, but he had failed to see that TJ had been preparing to send a fist to his stomach so when he turned, the blow caught him on his left side instead and since TJ had meant to heat the stomach's soft spot, he hadn't hold back on his strength. When his fist hit Mac, they both heard the sickening snap of a rib and Mac's eyes widened. He gasped and then clamped his mouth shut when he felt a scream threatening to make its way out. His back hit the wall again and he started sliding to the floor but TJ wouldn't let him. For a moment, the older man's eyes flashed with panic at what he had done, but not because he really cared about the boy, but because hiding a broken rib was a bit difficult to do, but not impossible.

"Bug. Bug. You better keep your mouth shut. You know how this works" Mac was still trying to catch his breath past the pain on his side, so he didn't say anything back. When TJ let him go, he fell the rest of the way to the floor and once the other man was out of sight, Mac let out the pained grunt he had been holding in while also hitting the floor with his fist. He couldn't believe TJ had broken his rib! How was he supposed to function like normal with nobody noticing?

He wanted to stay on the floor for a little while longer to wait until the pain came down to a manageable level, but he heard voices approaching, indicating that a group was about to leave the gym; if they headed right, they would surely see him, so he needed to move. He stood up on wobbly legs using the wall to support himself and with a deep frown, he straightened up and began to walk as if his side wasn't screaming at him to stop. His progress was slow, but hopefully the group of soldiers that passed by him payed him no mind. It was a slow and painful walk to the barracks and, once there, he went directly to his bed. He knew he should wrap his torso but going to Sam for bandages was out of the question. He would just have to find something else to do it with.

Glancing momentarily at everyone else to see if someone had noticed something was off with him, he saw Parker and Sam were apparently already sleeping, and Spike was laying on his bed reading a worn-out magazine. Mac knew Jack was still out and he wasn't usually back until later. TJ was nowhere to be seen.

The thought of bumping into him again crushed all desire to fix himself and so he painfully removed his boots before laying down on his bed, curling on his right side. He didn't care about taking away the rest of his clothes, he could just explain in the morning that he had been too tired to change. He began to think about how he would hide an injury like this from everyone else and by the time TJ came into the barracks a half hour later, his heart was racing. The only thought that helped him was the fact that their next mission wasn't up until a few days later, so he would have some time to heal before then.

Noticing that his heart wasn't slowing down, he berated himself for being such a weakling. How the hell had he managed to find himself in a situation like this? When he had joined the Army, he had thought the days of being bullied had been left behind. That he wouldn't be considered less than the rest and, for a time, it was just like that.

Everyone had been impressed by how quick and smart he was and when it became clear that diffusing bombs was his deal, he had actually had a great time during his training as an EOD. But soon things began to change. He began to stand out because of it and other soldiers started to dislike the way he thought and the way he talked. Add to that the fact he was adamant about not using guns, and he was back to being the different one. The one nobody liked. His superiors liked him enough. They trusted him with hard missions and all, but his fellow soldiers... They weren't exactly mean, they were just indifferent. Until TJ came along or, more like it, Mac came along to the unit.

After being rescued by Jack and his team, Mac had spent a while recuperating from his injuries and then he had been transferred to work as an EOD for the same Delta team that had rescued him. As he was used to, the other guys had been reluctant about him at first and they had picked on him for being the new guy. Eventually, everyone except TJ had come around and Mac was fine with that; he was actually more than fine because he had started to enjoy his time inside the unit even if he still felt a little out of place. That had all changed about three months ago when TJ escalated from innocent banter to a more physical level.

At first. It wasn't more than a few bumps and harder than necessary shoves. Then it became harder training sessions when they were paired together to do some hand to hand combat. It had really been nothing he couldn't handle. But then, the hard grips came, the hair pulling when he wanted Mac to pay attention to what he was saying, the occasional punch or two, always on a non-visible area and always when there was no one else around to see it.

As time went on, TJ started to become methodical, he would come at him the same day they returned from a mission until Mac finally understood this was how he let out the stress of battle, only, why did it have to be him? Why couldn't he use an actual punching bag? TJ had threatened him, of course, saying that he better not tell anyone about what was going on. That he was doing him a favor, roughening him up so he would get tougher, stronger. Somehow Mac didn't believe him.

He still remained quiet though, not exactly because of the threat of worse things to come, but because, let's face it: he felt ashamed. Ashamed that for all the smart that he was, he had been slowly drawn into a bullying situation he hadn't found a way to get out from. But, even more importantly, he had remained quiet because of something TJ had said the first time he got actually hit: ' _who do you think they'll believe, you or me?'_

And he had been right. Who was Mac to come here and tell this tightly closed unit that had been operating together for such a long time that one of their own was a bully? If he said that, he was bound to be thrown out and he seriously didn't want to go.

So yeah, he kept quiet, just as he would keep quiet about tonight and the fact that, for the first time, his injury was more serious than it had ever been at the hands of TJ.

The only positive thing that came out of his train of thought was that he'd managed to retreat into his own head, so his breathing had become regular and his position was comfortable enough to fall asleep. He was too tired and sore to move now, so he would figure out what to do in the morning.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

When morning came, Mac did a hell of a good job changing into new clothes without anyone seeing him because he had gotten up earlier than the rest. By the time they had all woken up, Mac had been sitting cross-legged on his bed, working around some pieces of metal and other things he was turning and twisting to creating something cool, no doubt. It wasn't the first time the guys woke up to an already fully awake and working MacGyver, so the sight wasn't at all out of the ordinary; it was actually a welcoming fact because this meant they would soon get another cool gadget to make their lives easier.

Jack was always the more interested in his projects, not because he cared or actually understood about the science behind them, but because he liked watching the kid at his home turf. Whenever Jack asked him to explain what he was building, he always got this spark in his eyes, going on and on about this or that, and it was obvious that Mac felt comfortable around his projects and whenever he was building something new. It was like there were two different Macs, the one sitting in front of him right now, all easy going and chatty; and the one everyone else outside of their unit thought was all he was: the quiet young soldier that was great at his job.

They ended up being the only ones left in the room since the rest of the guys had headed to the mess hall for breakfast. Jack had helped Mac transport whatever it was he had been building into the table since the structure still wasn't strong enough and then they had both turned to leave. When Jack turned around though, he uncharacteristically tripped over his own feet, bumping into Mac and reaching out to maintain his balance using the kid as leverage. Or he thought he would. Mac hand seen Jack stumble and he had reached with his arms to stop him from falling, but the older man's weight crashed into him directly over the broken rib he had so desperately been trying to hide. A muffled grunt escaped him and he instinctively doubled over, covering his middle with his arms and effectively taking away Jack's support, making them both fall to the ground in what would have been a perfectly comical and embarrassing moment if not for the fact that Jack had heard Mac's grunt and it would've been impossible to miss the way he flinched and how his body reacted to being in pain.

Mac was breathing heavily on the floor, already trying to get up and pretend like nothing had happened. Jack was having none of that.

"Mac" he said sternly, getting on his knees and forgetting about his slight embarrassment at having lost his balance so stupidly "what was that?" he asked.

"What was what?" Mac replied, valiantly trying to sound like his normal self but failing miserably at it when his voice sounded tight and more than just a little bit controlled; exactly as it sounded when he was in pain. Jack had only listened to that tone of voice a few times since meeting the kid, and it was a sound that would haunt him on his worst nightmares for years to come. Not that he knew that at the time of course.

"Are you hurt?" Jack persisted, earning a confused look from Mac. The kid did have a way with acting, the only problem was his voice; it always gave him away.

"Of course not. I'm fine" he said, going to stand up and losing his balance himself. Jack reached up and took a hold of his arm to keep him from face planting to the floor. Jack knew the younger man was hiding something and he didn't mind pulling rank on him to make him tell him if it meant finding out the truth faster. He had to make sure every member of his team was safe at all times.

"MacGyver" he said, using his most commanding tone of voice "lift your shirt" he ordered and he could almost flinch at the look on Mac's face. Like a deer caught in headlights. He made to disengage himself from Jack's grip but this one only tightened, earning another unwanted moan from the boy. Jack immediately loosened his grip when he realized he had hurt him.

"Are you crazy?" Mac asked, not caring that he was speaking to his immediate superior. He needed to avoid Jack seeing the bruise on his left side at all costs. TJ's words coming back to haunt him.

"You're protecting your left side" Jack stated, already figuring out that the kid could have injured his ribs at some point "so take off your shirt and let me see"

"No way" Mac said, trying again to stand up, this time having to reach into the table next to them to pull himself up. All the while, his hand never left his side. This time he did manage to make it all the way to his feet, Jack mirroring his movements and standing directly in front of him to keep him from walking towards the door, which is where he had already been going.

"Stop right there. Mac, if you're hurt you need to tell me. Now" he stressed the last word and regarded Mac with an intense glare, one that was met with defiance.

"I'm fine" now the kid sounded angry.

"If you're fine, lift up your shirt" if Mac was going to be stubborn, Jack could use the opportunity to teach the kid something about mules. They stared at each other for a whole minute before Mac finally answered.

"No" Jack was surprised. He had never encountered so much resistance from the boy except when they were on the field and Mac was about to do something dangerous. Jack knew the kid had a mind of his own, a brilliant mind at that, and he liked to stand his ground when he was sure about a certain way to do things. Jack had learned to respect and even admire that courageous streak; but for all of the times he had a stare down contest with him, Mac had always known his place. He had always respected his authority, so what was going on now?

"Don't make me give you and order twice MacGyver" Jack insisted, now anger coating his words. Mac was beginning to feel lightheaded. How was he supposed to get out of this one? He didn't want to keep standing up to Jack, he knew the consequences could be bad for him, but he also couldn't let him find out. In the end, one of his biggest fears won out and he lifted up his chin.

"I'm fine" he said. He was prepared for the verbal attack that would surely come his way but he hadn't been ready for the actual physical attack that followed.

Jack lunged at him, with that dangerous speed and precision that always characterized him out there, in the desert, taking bad guys down. Mac never had a chance.

Jack swiped at his leg and his knee buckled; while he was distracted with trying not to fall to the ground again, Jack reached up and wrestled Mac all the way to the floor, making him land on the ground with less force than what Mac had been expecting, although the move had still been enough to send another stab of pain through his ribs. Jack pinned Mac's arms with one hand and with the other one, he lifted his shirt.

"What the hell are you doing Jack!?" Mac asked outraged. He never would have expected such an invasion from the older man. Jack ignored the question though, and gaped for a second at the spectacular and very recent bruise on Mac's left side. The site was a dark shade of purple and red, and when he ran a finger along the lines of his ribs he came across the one broken, eliciting a gasp and a complaint from the man under him "get off me!" Mac yelled.

Jack complied, only so he could stare at his team member with a hard gaze. When Mac felt Jack's weight leave his body, he had to roll on his side and curl into himself trying to catch his breathing before going back to a sitting position. When he looked up, Jack was already on his feet.

"How did this happen?" Mac remained silent, sitting on the floor and staring ahead "God dammit Angus, you will answer when I ask you something!" he short of yelled. Now Mac looked up at him.

"I fell" he said, determination set hard on his face.

"No, you didn't" Jack stated right back at him "again: how did this happen?" Mac had drawn his knees up and his feet were slightly apart, his arms hanging loosely on top of his knees, trying for a relaxed posture but not quite getting there. Jack made an attempt to step closer so he could haul the kid up by the arm when the young one's cold tone of voice stopped him.

"Don't touch me again" Mac threatened, not entirely able to understand how he could stand up against Jack and he wasn't able to do it in front of TJ. Maybe it was because he knew that no matter what, Jack wouldn't hurt him. TJ certainly would.

Jack decided that it was best to keep his distance for now. He could see that Mac's body was tense and he had to admit he might have overreacted by pulling a move on the kid to get to see his injury, but how else would he have seen it otherwise? Mac would've surely found a way to get out of the room and Jack never would have found out his team member was hurting.

"Did it happen on our last mission?" Jack thought the bruise looked too fresh to be from their latest mission almost a week ago, but he was no medic, so he couldn't be sure "because if you failed to mention an injury while we were out there you could have compromised the team getting any of us hurt or killed in the process" somehow, that earned him a heated reaction from Mac, who snapped his head up to stare into his eyes.

"I would never compromise the team's safety" he said, voice cold and hard. Jack knew he was getting somewhere now.

"I know" he said softly, trying to change his approach "that's how I know you got that somewhere this week, after we came back" he indicated Macs injury with his head, and Mac looked down again "how did it happen?"

"I fell" Mac wanted to stick with his story; maybe if he was stubborn enough about it, Jack would back off. He should have known different.

"Did someone do this?" Jack asked, momentarily tapping into a thought that had occurred him. If the kid had really fallen and hurt himself that badly, he would have gotten checked out by the medical personnel, he would have told someone. Hell, not just someone, he would have told Jack. He knew Mac would never put their team in danger by not going into the field at a 100%, or at least letting everyone else know he wasn't at his up game. But the look he could see on him now... He looked embarrassed, ashamed. Jack almost didn't want to believe the scenario running through his mind could be happening to the kid "Mac, is someone doing this to too?"

Mac clenched his jaw. He felt his throat tighten almost painfully until the point where he couldn't swallow. He had been caught, now everyone would find out but no one would believe him. TJ had been right: he was the new one, the younger one, the pestilence... the bug... the rest of the team wouldn't believe his words against TJ's, who had been serving with them for years. They weren't just friends, they were all brothers. They had what Mac had wanted for as long as he could remember since his mother dying. They were a family, and Mac had been trying to fit in, he had been trying to become a part of this family. He had begun to think he was getting there, that the guys had slowly but surely started to accept him but, in the end, TJ had been right. Mac was nothing to these people. He was a pestilence. He was a bug.

He clenched his fists. Now they would send him away, back to his old unit because how could they work with someone accusing one of their brothers of hurting him?

The moment Mac fell silent again, Jack knew he had guessed right. Someone was hurting him but he was too embarrassed or scared to admit it. Jack needed to thread carefully now because he needed to make Mac confirm his allegations before he decided to get this through the necessary channels. Accusing a fellow soldier of harassing and even abusing another one wasn't something to take lightly, but Jack was willing to go all the way there if it meant keeping any member of his team safe.

"Mac, listen to me: if someone's been hurting you, you need to tell me so we can take it to the high-ups"

"No one's hurting me" Mac said, back to looking straight ahead, now with an almost distant look on his face.

"We can handle this"

"I fell"

"Who's doing this?"

"I'm fine"

"Mac, who broke your rib?"

"It doesn't matter"

"So someone did it"

"I said I fell"

"Mac!"

"What do you want me to say!?" he ended up yelling, startling Jack a little bit and also starting to get up from the floor. He would rather stay and endure TJ's antics than be sent away. He didn't want to leave. _He didn't want to leave_. He repeated to himself "I'm fine. I can take care of myself"

"That doesn't mean you have to. Mac, we're a team, you can trust me" Mac looked him straight in the eye.

"You would send me back" and he didn't know why he said it, but he did, a look of hurt passing through his eyes that had nothing to do with his injured side.

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked, not understanding what the kid meant.

"Nothing" Mac answered, heading to the door and picking up his pace when Jack made to stand in front of him. The older man reached for his upper arm again, intent on not letting Mac leave until they finished this conversation, and Mac couldn't suppress the flinch at Jack's touch. The older man frowned; he knew he hadn't hold on into the kid's arm that hard. He pulled back the arm, not caring about initiating another altercation and pulled the sleeve up revealing the finger shaped bruises there "I told you not to touch me!" Mac said pulling back his arm and taking a few steps away from Jack and the door.

"You're gonna tell me no one did that either?" Jack queried "or did you run into a door or something?" he asked, kind of mockingly just to make his point, unaware that the younger man would just misinterpret his intentions. Mac regarded him with a distrustful look, one that made Jack recoil a little, thinking that that was a look he never wanted to see on that kid again "okay, not a door then" he said and then repeated "who did it Mac?" before he could say anything else, voices could be heard approaching from the hall.

"Yo Boss! What's taking you guys so long?" suddenly the entire team made their way back inside the room.

"We're hungry. We can't wait all day for you" said Spike a little taken aback by the serious look on their team mates.

"You can go ahead and eat" Jack said, wanting to solve this matter with Mac as soon as possible.

"What's going on?" asked Sam, noticing how the atmosphere inside the room was tense. The boss and Mac must have been fighting, which was always something to be worried about because it usually meant there was a bomb nearby. Somehow Sam didn't think that was the subject at hand right now.

"Not now Sam. Go get your food, we're just talking" and then Jack saw it: the look that passed between TJ and Mac. TJ's expression was off, he looked angry and was sending a pointed look towards Mac, whilst this one had glanced away, swallowing hard, making his Adam's apple move prominently and suddenly Jack wanted to be sick. He alternated between watching Mac and TJ, going back and forth several times before giving his back to the kid and staring hard into TJ's eyes.

"Please tell me you didn't do it" he said, wishing with all his might that he was wrong. They all knew TJ wasn't very fond of Mac, but he would never resort to such means to demonstrate it, right? It was enough with the slightly over the line picks upon their newest and youngest member, even if he had already been with them for a year, but Jack would have never imagined, even in his wildest dreams that he could do something like this.

"Do what?" TJ asked defiantly.

"Jack, what's going on?" Parker asked, all joking aside.

"Someone broke the kid's rib" he answered, not even glancing at Mac.

"Jack!" Mac protested. It was enough that their team leader had found out. He didn't want the rest of them to know too. Exclamations of surprise and concern could be heard among the group and when their field medic asked the question, he received a heated answer "I'm fine!" Jack just wouldn't let it go though.

"He's not fine. He's got a broken rib and plenty of bruises on his side and arm to go around. Someone's been using him as a punching bag" he stated, looking straight at TJ.

"What? You think I did it?" the other man asked, feigning outrage.

"Did you?" Jack simply asked.

"Boss, come on" interjected Spike "he wouldn't do something like that" and so it began, Mac thought. He was receiving strange looks and suddenly he felt like he was in high school all over again, getting bullied and made fun of by every guy out there who just happened to be bigger than him. Mac's throat closed painfully once more and his heart started racing, his eyes burning with unshed tears of shame. Damn! Damn it all! He had never wanted to feel like this again: rejected, judged, criticized. Of course they wouldn't believe him. Of course!

"Did the kid tell you that?" TJ asked, almost daring Mac to speak up by himself.

"Mac, is this true?" Parker asked, being the second oldest of them all, he easily had some 10 plus years on their youngest one. Mac looked up at him, his breathing having picked up to the beating of his heart. Panic! Panic! He didn't want to keep talking, he never wanted them to find out! They were gonna kick him out, like a dog, like a bug. He didn't have a chance to answer though.

"What did you tell him bug, huh?" TJ asked, directing his words towards the silently panicking Mac "what? Did you get tired of the desert?"

"Easy TJ" Sam intervened.

"I didn't say anything" Mac finally found his voice, although it sounded dim, even to his own ears.

"Decided you wanted an easy way out? Get sent home for being abused like a damn little girl so you could run back to your mom?" Mac gasped.

"Hey!" Jack yelled "watch it TJ!"

"Yeah, what's your deal man?" Sam asked, already taking a step closer towards Jack and Mac.

"My deal's I don't like being accused of a bunch of lies!" TJ bellowed, to which Mac surprised himself by answering back.

"I didn't lie!" he said with actual heat in his words. The last comment TJ made had rubbed Mac the wrong way and got him thinking that maybe coming clean about what was going on wasn't such a bad idea after all. The guy was starting to show his true colors anyway. Jack turned around to look at Mac, who still wrapped and arm protectively around his middle.

"Mac" he said to grab his attention. When the blond looked at him, Jack could see the fear behind those baby blue eyes but also the sudden change of heart "was it him?" Mac wasn't sure where he got the confidence of speaking the truth then.

"Yes" he said softly. Everyone then stared back at TJ who kept trying to play innocent.

"What? You believe him?" he asked.

"Why would he lie?" Spike said, a bit torn between friends. Was TJ really capable of doing this? Or wasn't he beyond the act? They all knew their friend was volatile but Mac had been on the team for a year now. If what he was saying was true, how long had this been happening?

"I'm not lying" Mac repeated himself and now Sam had come all the way to him because he didn't like the pale complexion the kid was starting to have and the way he hunched in on himself even more with every passing minute. He was the team member better trained in field medicine and he felt directly responsible of taking care of their injured.

"TJ, you have one chance to come clean about this or so help me God..." Jack left the threat hanging and by the end of the sentence, both Parker and Spike had stepped closer to mirror Jack's stance, as if they were forming a barrier between TJ and Mac. Seeing this, the other man couldn't keep pretending.

"So what if I did? The kid could've used the lesson the first time around. He doesn't belong here, he belongs back in-" he didn't get to finish as his face became Jack's target. He landed a hard blow to the man's cheek, making everyone else jump. Before the thing could escalate to a full-blown fight, Spike stood in front of Jack while Parker kept TJ at a distance; Sam having to hold into Mac's arm to keep him from walking forward and withdrawing his hand back quickly when he felt Mac flinch, the kid almost not realizing when the other man lifted his sleeve and gaped at the bruising on his arm. Mac was too focused on what was going on in front of them. The guys were defending him? They were standing up to TJ. They believed him?

"If you ever lay a hand on him again!" Jack said, trying to break free from Spike.

"You what? You'll save his ass and treat him like a damn princess? Because that's all you've ever done since we got him out of that shithole!" they all remembered that day.

"So that's what this is all about? You're jealous?" Jack asked laughing "and I thought you were crazy before"

"Argh!" with an almost animal growl, TJ launched himself forward but was held fast by Parker, whose imposing figure then towered menacingly over him.

"You wanna fight?" Parker asked "why don't you pick someone your own size Theodore? You go around hurting the kid when no one's watching? You're a coward man"

While the confrontation kept taking place and insults were still being traded, Sam frowned when he felt around Mac's rib cage and found the broken one, also noticing how the kid's breathing had become faster, making him take shorter breaths which could only mean he was hurting. Sam was afraid he might end up puncturing a lung if he didn't get that rib treated properly. Then he focused back on TJ's words.

"Don't pretend like you don't pick on him too"

"We do, but we tease. We never lay a hand on him" Spike was the one who answered and everyone else cringed at the response from TJ.

"No, that's what the rebels are for" he stated with a wicked grin on his face. Out of nowhere, Mac surged forward.

"What did I ever do to you!?" he asked, now Sam having to hold him back but Jack turned around to put a hand on his chest and then looked at Sam.

"Take him to the infirmary" he ordered "get him checked out. We'll meet you there" the other man nodded, taking a hold of Mac's uninjured arm and starting to lead him away, Parker pushing TJ away from the door so they could pass. Seeing the anger on everyone's faces, Mac was quick to add, while resisting slightly Sam's pull.

"I didn't want this to happen" he said, referring to the team fighting amongst themselves "I didn't!" and he somehow still felt like he wanted TJ to know he hadn't said anything in the first place, that Jack had figured it out on his own.

Once the kid was out of site, Jack turned his attention back to TJ. He wasn't going to pretend like what was happening now didn't hurt him. TJ had been with his unit for about three years now and he had never shown this side of him. He thought about the few times he had paired him and Mac out there together and his heart jumped at the possibility that TJ might have not been watching the kid's back like he should. What if something had happened to him? Would TJ had let him die? That was a picture Jack just couldn't forgive.

"You're gonna come with us and we're gonna settle this right now" Jack stated without any heat in his voice but instead a cold hardness he had never used on one of his friends before "there will be an official complaint and all of us as witnesses. You're getting out" he finished.

"So you will ruin my whole career for that little piece of shit!?" TJ asked.

"You did that yourself when you decided to start hitting him man" said Spike.

In the end they had to bring TJ in by force. He started to resist them at first but by the time they arrived at their destination, they managed to explain what was going on and were assured that the necessary measures would be taken. They were just starting to head over to the infirmary when Parker said.

"Damn Boss. What do we do now?" Jack ran a hand up and down his face.

"Guess we're gonna have to find someone else" he answered, already dreading the moment they had to be assigned someone new "right now I wanna see how Mac's doing"

"The kid wasn't looking so well when he left" Spike commented.

"I'm not worried about the rib guys. I'm worried about him" Jack said, because broken ribs could heal. Being abused by someone who's supposed to have your back? Not so much.

"Do you think it's been happening for a while? You think this isn't the first time?" Spike asked, fearing the answer.

"Let's find out" the three of them arrived at their destination, asking where they had sent Sam and Mac, and then finding them easily behind a curtain.

"Hey guys" Sam greeted while Mac kept his gaze down. He was sitting on an examination table and his shirt lay discarded on a nearby chair. When everyone else saw the bruises, they whistled.

"Damn kid. You okay?" there was no answer forthcoming from the young man, so Sam stepped in to say.

"He only has that one broken rib so he should be fine in a few. Doctor's gonna patch him up and then we're good to go"

"I didn't want you guys to fight. I didn't want this to happen" Mac's voice was finally heard and he had lifted up his gaze to look at the team.

"How long has this been happening?" Jack asked, somehow feeling responsible for not having noticed something earlier. Mac fell silent again.

"Listen Mac, you don't have to be ashamed, you-" Parker started.

"I'm not ashamed" Mac interrupted him, even as some color was creeping into his cheeks. Mac crossed his arms over his chest and Jack recognized the young man must have been feeling way too exposed.

"Guys... Give us the room?" Jack asked, and although at first they were reluctant to leave, the rest of the team marched out of the room, concern and, admittedly, some guilt showing on their faces. Then Jack stepped closer to the table and leaned against it, next to Mac. If he was going to get the kid to talk, it was better if it was just him. Mac had always been more comfortable around Jack "listen buddy..." but Mac didn't want to hear him, not when his voice had adopted a tone of pity.

"I didn't want you to know" Mac stated, his voice going back to being a little defiant "things would have been better if you never found out"

"What?" Jack asked, perplexed "explain to me how being abused by him would have been better?"

"I wasn't abused" Mac said, defiance turning into anger.

"Mac, how long has it been happening?" Jack asked, noticing that the tone of the conversation was starting to spook the kid.

"It doesn't matter"

"Yes, it does!" and they both flinched at how loud his voice sounded. Mac eyed Jack carefully before answering slowly.

"A couple of months"

"Son of a-" Jack started, running a hand through his hair "why didn't you say something the first time Mac?" but the answer he got wasn't what he was expecting.

"I'm not weak" Mac stated, now staring at the ground.

"No one's saying you are. Just what the hell did he tell you to keep your mouth shut?" then Jack's heart dropped "Mac, what did he _do_ to keep you from talking?"

"You would've sent me away" Jack had never had a harder time understanding the kid when he was talking, not even when he was explaining the scientific stuff behind whatever he was doing at the time.

"Sent you away? What are you talking about?"

"Listen, it only happened a couple of times and only just when we got back from missions. Nothing that compromised your team and certainly nothing worth making all this fuss about" he blurted out. Jack didn't miss the way Mac had said _'your team'_ , as if he didn't consider himself part of it anymore. _'You would have sent me away'_ his mind echoed.

"Mac, you're not gonna get kicked out of the Army because of this. If someone's going out, it's him"

"I know that"

"Then what are you talking about?"

"I didn't think you would believe me, okay? How could you believe me when he's been part of the unit for years? I was the new guy, the one nobody wants around" Mac took in a breath and regained his composure "whatever, I told you I'm used to that"

"You know what? Maybe working around so many bombs has shifted something inside that big melon of yours"

"Yeah, well..." Mac said, jumping down from the table and reaching for his shirt "I don't need-"

"Hey, hey, calm down. It was a joke, Jesus! Get back on the table before I make you" Mac reluctantly did. Jack eyed him for a while. Could Mac be so seriously fed up of their jokes that he was jumping at the slightest one now? Maybe Jack hadn't noticed before, but maybe the team had been a bit too hard on him since day one. Picking on his age, his looks and his brain. In reality, they had all been in awe at how smart he was, how he could find a solution where no one else could; they had grown fond of him, he was an essential part of their team now, but looking at the kid right now, Jack considered the possibility that he may not know that. He may not know how important to the team he was.

A doctor came in then, bringing wrappings with him and starting to work quickly and efficiently in wrapping Mac's middle tightly to secure the rib in place so it could heal properly although everyone knew that broken ribs didn't exactly need much treatment beyond time to heal. Mac grimaced at the pull of the bandages, but didn't make a noise. He was done feeling weak.  
By the time the doctor had finished, Mac had already put on his shirt again, but he made no move to get out. The doctor left, giving him instructions to get checked out in a couple of days and Jack went back to the table. All tension leaving the air, Mac drew a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want you to break your unit"

"Mac, I'm the one who should be sorry" Jack said with a softness he wasn't used to showing "it's bad enough that we have to fight against the bad guys out there. You shouldn't have had to worry about getting hit here too. I should've noticed sooner. I should've stopped him sooner"

"So what happens to me now?"

"Well, now you're gonna have to file a complaint and explain everything that's happened. But you shouldn't worry, he practically confessed in front of all of us"

"No, I mean, aren't you gonna send me back?" Jack looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"I don't think your team's gonna want to work with me anymore. I made you break it up" Mac said, looking straight and Jack.

"Stop saying that. Stop saying 'your team' as if you're not part of it" Jack chastised "they're not mad, not at you anyway, and we've got your back. We're on your side kid" Jack's mind went back to the conversation they'd had the night before and how Mac had explained he'd gotten used to not being liked, to not being backed up. That's the moment the older man decided he would always have this kid's back. Mac looked surprised for a second before a small smile broke free from his lips. He was quick to cover it up though, as if he was embarrassed by it "come on" Jack said, putting and arm over his shoulders, careful not to jostle him too much and making Mac follow him outside "let's go grab something to eat. We can deal with taking out the trash later"

They met the team just outside the curtain, and Mac had a slight moment of panic in which he thought they all must have heard the conversation between him and Jack, but when Sam put a hand on his shoulder and both Spike and Parker gave him reassuring nods, his nerves calmed down and he allowed himself to enjoy the fact that the team had gotten his back. Things weren't perfect, he knew he would still have to work through his insecurities and fears, but maybe today had been a good first step in the right direction. Maybe now, knowing that these men truly had his back, he could start feeling more confident around them. Maybe he could start working on the kind of man he wanted to be, and the team had perfectly good examples for that.

Today, after the storm that had slightly begun to consume him during the past few months, a new Angus MacGyver had been born, one that would stop at nothing to finally feel like he'd earned his place here.

 **THE END – FINITO – TERMINADO**

 **So there it was… Did you like it? Was it too much? Was it too cheesy or out of character?**

 **I know that Mac's time in the Army probably wasn't as lonely as I portrayed it here, but I kind of have this picture in my head where Mac is actually still dealing with his insecurities from being different through his first few years in the Army, only feeling confident when he's around bombs or the things he can actually understand. But I imagine him having a hard time interacting well with other because he's different from the rest and I have some experience with that: feeling different and rejected by everyone else, being ignored and considered less. I also know what it's like to making yourself stand being in a place where you're kind of mistreated just because you don't want to be alone or kicked out, so I tried to put some of my experiences into the writing of this chapter. I think that, as he grew older (just like I did) Mac found people who accepted him for who he was (Jack and the guys, minus TJ of course) and that eventually he became the man we see on the show. I just think it was a hard and long process. Anyway, that's how it's been for me.**

 **Annnnnd enough of the heavy talk! I am literally DYING to see what you guys thought of this chapter, so would you leave a review? Thank you so much for reading!**


	16. Germany

**I'm sorry for having been away for so long, I got an unexpected week or so of work and even though I really wanted to enjoy my vacations, I couldn't say no to a little extra money. I'm back though with a brand new one shot! One that I've been promising a few people for quite some time. This is a kind of Jack centered fic, although of course Mac isn't much farther away; as much as I try not to get my attention on him, I just can't help it. I did try to do justice to Jack, so for those of you Jack lovers out there, this should be a good read : )**

 **Also, the idea for a Jack centered fic had been completely different from the one portrayed in this chapter but the writing just wasn't working out, so I decided to change it once I got kind of struck by the lightning of inspiration with this one. Hope you like it though!**

 **Summary: Jack liked to think he was fearless and brave in the face of imminent torture, but he had never been trained for this. Would Mac make it in time to save his partner or will they have to face the consequences of being even just a few minutes late?**

 **WARNING!: slight torture, nothing gruesome, but the subject is always kind of dark isn't it?**

 **CHAPTER 16: Germany**

Despite the situation Jack was currently in, he couldn't help but smirk a little bit. They hadn't caught Mac yet.

He did reprimand himself for not being able to fight off the men that had gotten the drop on him, but, being fair to himself, he had been hit from behind with what felt like the butt of a gun. After that, disoriented and with a killer headache, he had been unavoidably overpowered and brought to the top floor of the building. His own weapon and earpiece removed, so he had no way to get in contact with Mac or Riley; or Bozer for that matter since he had come along in the mission as well. A mission that consisted on breaking into this very sophisticated building in the middle of Berlin to get a copy of some new technology the Germans had apparently developed and that, according to the tip given to them, could be potentially dangerous to the U.S. and the rest of the world.

They had infiltrated the building at the last hour of work, getting a hold of some access key cards and using Bozer's prosthetics to disguise themselves. They had been able to get in, but not much after that, a guard recognized the inconsistency of the owner of the keycards having left the building and then coming back again, something that apparently didn't happen too often since it was enough to raise the alarm.

At first, Mac and Jack had entered the facilities together but, having noticed the suspicious looks they were getting from the guards before the actual alarm was raised, Jack had taken the job of leading them away from Mac since the younger agent had to concentrate on finding the technology. Matty had stressed how important success was, so failure was not an option. He had managed to draw all the attention to himself while Mac got lost in the crowd by getting rid of his mask and making a ruckus out of being chased. He had allowed Mac to slip past the guards, but he had also managed to get himself in his current situation: his arms tied to the armrests of a chair, as well as his legs, sitting in front of a neatly suited German billionaire, by the looks of it, and getting lectured and threatened because of his break in. There were questions, of course: what government do you work for? Why did they send you? Are you working alone? There were also quite some punches that just added to the terrible headache he already had. Still, he said nothing. He was not alone, of course he was not alone, and seeing as Mac had an extraordinary talent of hiding in the most unpredictable places or creating very imaginative distractions to slip through, Jack was confident Mac would find a way out of there, for both of them.

Meanwhile, something the 'suit' had just said brought his attention directly to the billionaire.

"If you're here, trying to get past my security, I have to assume you want the new technology" he spoke with a heavily accented english, but it was enough to be understandable. At the mention of the 'oh so mysterious' technology, Jack's attention was brought forward.

"Oh well, it's not like I came here to meet your ugly face" he responded nonchalantly. The German 'suit' ignored the comment and continued talking.

"Unfortunately I'm gonna have to go through my staff and find out how this information got leaked. Actually, I should thank you, for you have let me know there is someone not trustworthy working for me. It is also unfortunate, for you, that I keep my research close, at all times, so I know you weren't able to steal it"

"Who says I wasn't? The information must be trespassing hands as we speak" Jack lied, because he wanted to drag on the conversation as much as he could, trying to give Mac time to actually find the thing before getting out of there. Although, if what the 'suit' was saying was true, then getting a hold of whatever it was, was going to prove to be more difficult than they had first thought.

"I really doubt that" the 'suit' continued, and placed his elbows in front of his desk to intertwine his fingers in front of him, As if he was having an actual business meeting "as a matter of fact, as we speak..." the man quoted "the building is being emptied since it was already the end of the day. Everyone is being throughoutly searched and sooner rather than later, whoever you're working with will be found. In the meantime, if you are so interested in my technology, I might as well give you a demonstration. It is a spectacular way to be treated before dying" he finished, with a smile on his face, and Jack made an effort not to gulp after the implications of that last sentence. He kind of had already figured out there was a very strong possibility of them wanting to kill him to protect their secret and precious tech, but having someone forecast it with such a smile on their face it was somehow unsettling. Still, Jack knew he wasn't going to die that day. Damn if he wasn't gonna make it home in time for the football game he wanted to watch.

"It would be very nice of you to show me how the thing works before I take it with me. It'll save me the whole instructions reading, you know?" as always, he never wasted an opportunity to antagonize his captors, something that sometimes drove Mac insane but, thankfully, Mac wasn't here right now.

"Have you ever been tortured, Mr...?" he trailed off, not knowing how to call Jack. The question sent butterflies to his stomach, but his expression remained totally relaxed.

"Bruce" Jack supplied.

"Right. Mr. Bruce, have you ever been tortured?" the man repeated. Jack made a show of thinking about it before answering.

"Once or twice" he said, shrugging his shoulders as if he was saying how many times in his life he had gone camping. The man stood up from his chair and walked to the wall behind him, still talking to Jack as if this was some social meeting.

"What have you had to face? Electrocution? Waterboarding?" he asked as if he was really interested in the answer, one that Jack wasn't willing to give. Seeing as he remained quiet, the 'suit' kept going "do you know what is it that we do here Mr. Bruce? We develop ideas" the man answered his own question and it was just their luck that they had taken on an actual think tank in Germany "and our ideas are very remorseful for our government. We have a special relationship with them and we were asked to create this" he said, sliding a panel open on the wall and taking out what looked like some 3D glasses, only, more elaborate. Through all the showing off, the guy kept talking and explaining himself "you look like a soldier, someone who's been trained for situations like this; but what we've created goes beyond the simple tasks of waterboarding or beating someone to death. Every soldier is trained to withstand that kind of treatment these days" Jack wouldn't exactly call waterboarding something _simple_ , he thought with disdain but bit back on his remark because this guy was actually spilling the beans on whatever project he had been working, giving Jack the information they had broken in here to get in the first place "I'm sure you have been prepared for all the regular methods of interrogation yourself, but I assure you, you have never experienced...how to say it in english?... Ah, sensory overload"

"What, you're going to talk my ears to death?" Jack couldn't help himself. The man smirked.

"You're gonna wish I had" he said darkly and then nodded to the man standing behind Jack. Without hin realizing it or having the time or the means to avoid it, the other man walked around him with a syringe in hand, one that he injected into Jack's unprotected elbow, making the agent flinch a bit at the prick of the needle.

"What was that? What did you just give me?" he asked, already beginning to feel a tingling sensation run up his arm and spreading to the rest of his body.

He became restless and started to fight his restraints although, as he had already tried, they didn't budge and only served to irritate his wrists even further. Jack glanced up and saw the German 'suit' coming closer to him lifting the 3D glasses and starting to place them un top of his head. Jack tried to fight it, to trash his head around so the man couldn't place the object on him, but there was only so much room he could maneuver and, eventually, he found his eyes covered by some kind of black screen.

He had actually never used a 3D glasses before, but he supposed this is what a normal one would look like from the inside. Even then, Jack knew immediately this was no ordinary 3D lens. For starters, it was more like a helmet than a pair of goggles, and they covered almost the top half of his head. The goggles were connected to what looked and felt liked headphones so, in all, Jack felt like he had just been given a motorcycle helmet. The thing was secured with a strap going under his chin and, once it was all settled, there was no way he could dislodge the thing by himself, not with his hands tied. His breathing had become accelerated but he refused to show these people any kind of fear. He wasn't scared of being tortured (not much anyway), he just didn't like not knowing what to expect. He supposed that was the whole plan of the apparent torture device.

"Let's see how much you can stand it before you lose your mind, shall we?" and without further warning, suddenly Jack's world exploded into a hurricane of stimuli that sent his heart skyrocketing to the next galaxy.

With the switch of a button, the headphones over his ears started playing a hideous sound, something between a screech and a horn and the roar of an engine and a dark symphony song and whatever other annoying sound he could think off. The sounds were played at a volume that surely wasn't good for his ears and he seriously thought they might start bleeding if the noise didn't stop soon. Because that was all it was: noise.

At the same time, the screen behind the goggles had lit up with such bright colors that Jack had to cry out at the sudden burn he got in his eyes. They had been open at first, but even clenched shut, he could still see the brightness of the light. That wasn't the worst part though, the screen began to blink intermittently, going from pitch black to incredibly bright in a matter of seconds, with an occasional red screen thrown in for good measure. It was like being in a club, with the lights blinking and the music blaring all around you, only it was ten times worse. Actually, scratch that, it was a hundred times worse and just after barely one minute, Jack was trashing like his life depended on it.

He began pulling on his restraints like a mad man and although he knew he must have been tearing his flesh, he couldn't exactly feel it, or bring himself to care. What he was experiencing right now was beyond anything he had ever felt and he knew that, if this had been an interrogation, he would have already said anything to make the pain stop.

He tried shaking the helmet off, but it was too tightly secured on his head. A desperate sound escaped him and he was beginning to think he wouldn't be above begging for the treatment to stop, when suddenly, it did. Jack slumped on his chair and was about to take a huge breath when the air was stolen from him by the whole helmet activating again: the noise, the lights. It all began again and then stopped. It happened a third time, and a fourth. By the fifth time, Jack screamed.

It was too much. There were just too many stimuli overloading his brain and he couldn't scape them. He threw his head back, forced his hands into fists and kept fighting to scape the torture. Nothing helped. It was when the helmet remained on without shutting off again that the tears started to scape his eyes.

His eyes burned, his ears felt like they were being drilled into and his whole head was going to explode. For a moment, he considered if brains could actually _, literally_ , explode, because his sure was on its way there. He didn't know how much more he could take and it had only been five minutes.

He screamed again.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

The sound of his partner screaming is what Mac was greeted with when he arrived at the top floor of the building.

He had managed to bypass all security with Riley's help acting as his guardian angel, talking into his comm and guiding his way through the building. There had been some close calls with a few guards but, thankfully, as the building was evacuated of their regular workers, the amount of guards left wasn't really that much. Still, Mac knew he would never be able to get all the way to the top undetected or un-detained. He needed a quick way to deal with whoever came at him and, after having to hide in a supply closet on one of the lower levels, he had come up with the perfect plan. A plan that had eventually even let Riley and Bozer inside the building without having to worry about getting caught. Mac's train of thought ran along the lines of: if there's nobody awake to catch you, then you don't get caught.

He had mixed some chemicals with water, added a few things here and there and the poured the resulting liquid into a spray bottle he had previously emptied. Now, whoever he splashed in the face with it, would almost instantly be knocked unconscious.

As he had noticed before, there weren't actually so many guards in the building and since there were no police sirens blaring in the distance, Mac assumed the people running the building must have wanted to deal with the intruders in their own way. Alone.

Riley had used her rig to monitor the cameras and alert Mac of every guard she could see. One by one he took them out and made his way up, which is where Riley had seen Jack being taken. Unfortunately, there were no cameras on the last floor.

"Alright guys" Mac said into his comm "you can come in. I'm not sure how long this stuff will keep everyone down but I guess we have an hour at least. Let's find Jack, copy the data of the technology, and get out of here"

"Roger that" said Bozer, who had already jumped out of the van with Riley. After a while, his voice could be heard again "damn, does anyone else get the vibe of walking into Sleeping Beauty's castle?" he asked.

"Sleeping Beauty? Seriously?" Riley asked, giving him a disapproving glare.

"Yes Sleeping Beauty! You know when everyone fell asleep in the castle just doing what they were doing?"

"Guys! Can we focus?" Mac said.

"Sure Mac" Riley responded, still sending Bozer a look "what do you want us to do?"

"Find a computer and see if there's anything worth downloading. We need to find this technology. Leaving without it is not an option.

"Yeah. There's a guard coming on your right" she warned, since she still carried her laptop in her hands monitoring the cameras. Mac quickly disposed of him and kept going.

"I'm about to head to the last floor. Jack's gotta be there" he announced before getting to the stairs and running up the last steps. When he opened the door that would allow him access to the floor, that's when he heard Jack scream.

The closer he got the main office, the clearer he could hear the sounds of distress coming out of the room and his stomach dropped at thinking about what could be happening to his partner right now. He didn't like going into the room without knowing what he was up against, but the sounds reaching his ears erased all traces of doubt from his mind.

The door of the office was opened and he could see it was a vast space, he risked a first peek and what he saw both encouraged and scared him. On the bright side, there were only two people inside the room, besides Jack that is, a man dressed as a guard and another one dressed like he was going to the Oscars or something. Mac was fairly confident that he could take out the guard before the other man realized what had happened and then it would just be a matter of getting close enough to the other man to spray him with his chemical solution. What scared him though, was the sight of his partner trashing on a chair, grunting and shaking his head as if he was trying to get what looked like a helmet out of his head, which was probably what he was doing and Mac could only imagine what the thing must have been doing to him.

He quietly retreaded into the hall to tell Riley and Bozer that he had found their missing team member and that they should make their way up as well. Bozer could help Mac with Jack, since it looked like he would need it once he got him free, and Riley could just use the computer inside this office since it was the most likely place the information they wanted would be stored.

Making his mind about it, Mac crept up to the office again and without second thoughts, he launched himself in, tackling the guard to the ground and quickly spraying a generous amount of liquid in his face. Soon enough, both the guard and the Oscars nominee dude were down for the count and Mac could focus solely on his partner, who was still trashing around and trying to break his bonds by sheer force. No such luck there since the zip ties used to tie him down were extremely thick.

"Hey partner. I'm gonna get you outta here" Mac said, but Jack gave no indication of having heard or even acknowledge that he was there.

Jack suddenly jumped when he felt a hand on his arm, the touch feeling like a burn on his skin. The unexpected flinch also made Mac jump and his heart started hammering in his chest. What had they done to his partner? Mac realized that, whatever it was, it probably had to do with the helmet thing on Jack's head, and so that was the first thing he removed. He found the strap under Jack's chin and released the lock before lifting the device from his head. The helmet turned off the moment the strap was undone, so Mac couldn't know what it had been doing. What he did see was his partner's face. His eyes were clenched shut and there were tears running down his cheeks; his breathing was erratical and his lips were pressed in a tight line.

"Jack?" Mac asked worried, he had never seen the older man quite like that. The older man didn't seem to hear him or, if he did, he offered no response. He decided to undo the restraints holding Jack to the chair, so he took out his knife and started cutting through the ties. First, he freed his legs and then his right hand. When he was about to cut the zip tie of the left hand, Jack's free hand shut up and grabbed desperately at Mac's hand. The blond looked up to see a pair of glassy and unfocussed eyes trying to focus on him and he gave his partner some reassuring words "it's alright big guy, I got you" he said before cutting the last restraint. For a moment, he thought Jack had stood up in a haste to give him a hug, much like he had done when he had been drugged to the gills with truth serum but, too late, Mac realized what was actually happening.

The moment Jack felt the last of his restraints being cut, he lunged for the person in front of him. He couldn't see who it was, he couldn't hear what they might have said. All he knew is that he had to get away; away from the lights still flashing in his eyes and the ringing in his ears that was like nothing he had ever felt before. Not even the strongest of bombs had left him hearing quite like this. His vision was blurred and he actually couldn't see a single damn thing in front of him, but he could _feel_. To be honest, he could feel everything a million times better than he ever could and, without thinking it twice, he shut up from the chair and grabbed someone's hand, a hand that currently held a knife and so it meant a threat to him. He positioned his own hand on top of the slim wrist, because he could tell that his hand was bigger than his opponent's and with a strength he wasn't sure he was capable of right now, he twisted the limb.

There was an audible crack, and then a scream. One that didn't reach his ears.

The moment Mac felt his wrist break, he let out a bloodcurdling scream. He had been so unprepared for the pain that the surprise of it all only served to intensify it and he couldn't believe what had actually happened. His partner had just broken his wrist!

"Jack!" Mac yelled between pain and surprise, but the older agent just ignored him. Mac felt himself being hauled to one side, tears coming to his eyes when Jack pulled him by his broken wrist, which he still held firmly in his hand, and slammed the younger man into the wall. With a feral growl, Jack released his wrist to take a hold of his shirt by the front and then bring him to the floor. Mac hit the ground and the air was driven from his lungs.

Before he had time to recuperate though, Jack landed on top of him, straddling him and ready to deliver a fist to his face. Luckily, Mac was able to avoid that, even if the block was made with his left arm since he pretty much couldn't use his right one, but he failed to prevent his partner from closing his hands around his throat and squeezing for all he was worth. Mac's eyes went wide and he arched his back in an effort to get away from the chocking hold, one that was quickly making him see stars dancing in front of his eyes.

"J-Jack!" he tried, his voice cracked and panicked "JACK!" he tried again, louder this time and, for a moment, he thought he saw some semblance of recognition in Jack's crazed eyes. He brought his left hand towards his neck, trying to pry his partner's fingers open while starting to trash heavily under his weight. His air supply was running low now, and it wouldn't be too long before he couldn't draw a breath anymore. What the hell was going on!? He asked himself. His partner was about to kill him for Christ's sake!

"Jack, please! It's me" he said. Almost in a whisper "Mac. It... It's Mac" he felt the hands around his throat lessen fractionally and he gulped in as much air as he could, not that it was much, or enough, since his head was spinning like crazy and if Jack didn't let go completely now, he was sure gonna pass out and die "please" he begged again, now with tears actually making an appearance and leaking from his eyes. Mac could barely hear Riley and Bozer asking what was happening through his comm, but there was no way he could answer. They must have heard him scream and pleading with Jack, so he guessed they must have been as confused as he was right now.

Gradually, bit by bit, Jack's gaze started to focus on the blurry face underneath him. The first thing he noticed was the hair color: blond. That's odd, he didn't remember the guard nor the 'suit' being blond. Then his vision cleared a little bit more and he thought he could see a somewhat familiar face underneath him, which made him loosen his grip a little bit more. He still couldn't hear anything but by the feels of it, the man he was currently choking was trying to speak to him, his vocal cords vibrating underneath his iron like grip. The struggles of his captive had been intense at first, but they were weak now so maybe it was safe to let go; he didn't want to kill anybody like this anyway, even after what they had done to him. Killing someone by slowly squeezing the life out of them wasn't a pleasant thing to do, and he sure as hell didn't want to deal with something like that on top of everything else.

Gosh! There were so many sensations running a flare in his body and still overloading his brain, even if he could tell he was no longer wearing that dreadful helmet. And then, out of nowhere, between the incessant and painful ringing in his ears, he heard it, faint and strained: ' _please_ '.  
He knew that voice! Hell, he knew that _plea_ , and with a monumental effort he tried to focus his eyes long enough to distinguish the face underneath him. What he saw made him want to cry. Mac!

He instantly let go of Mac's neck completely and crawled away from him, hitting his back against the wall and putting his hands over his ears. He closed his eyes and began struggling internally with what he had done and what he could still feel intently multiplied by ten.

The second Mac felt the pressure lift, he gulped a huge breath and then let out the mother of all coughs, one that hurt his throat from the inside and made fresh tears reappear in his eyes. When Jack got up from on top of him, he turned on his side and, in a fetal position, continued to cough his insides out. He touched his neck with his left hand to reassure himself that there were no hands there to choke him anymore while his right hand throbbed painfully on the floor. He glanced to the side where his partner was kind of murmuring things to himself and his heart ached more that his injuries ever could. What had happened to him? What had this people done to him?

At that moment, Bozer and Riley made their way into the office and when they saw their two teammates down, they hurried over to help, only to be stopped by Mac's forced cry.

"Stop!" he said, his voice itchy and weak but urgent enough to halt Bozer's and Riley's approach "nobody goes near him" he empathized. He didn't want them frightening Jack and making him jump unto action again. Mac painfully got into a sitting position and crawled his way to his partner, making sure to keep his broken hand tucked near his body. When he was close enough to touch but without doing so, he spoke.

"Jack" he called, hating how painful talking felt. His voice was barely above a whisper. Now able to hear, Jack opened his eyes at the sound of his name.

"Mac" the older man tried to say, but no sound came out. The blond agent could still read his lips though and knew his friend had finally recognized him. He gave him a timid smile.

"Hey Jack. You're fine. It's over. Whatever they did, it's over" Mac carefully extended his left arm to offer his hand for Jack to take. The other man latched into his arm like his life depended on it and for a terrifying split second, Mac thought Jack had felt threatened again and would break his other arm as well, but the grip wasn't so much hurtful as it was desperate. However, when he tried to get up from the floor and help his partner up as well, Jack intensified his grip, this time actually making it painful enough that Mac had to grunt, so he settled back down. He didn't know what had happened to his friend, but it had certainly been bad enough to leave him this hyped and frightened at the same time. Mac glanced at his other friends, who were watching the whole scene play out in front of them with wide eyes and he knew they needed to get out of that place quickly. Mission be damned, they needed to take Jack to a hospital.

"Bozer" he rasped "get the spray bottle and approach slowly. Only one splash should be enough to get him to sleep"

"You want me to drug Jack?" he asked reluctantly.

"We need to get out of here and he's in no state to walk" satisfied Bozer would do as he was told, he then turned to the hacker "Riley, grab that helmet. We're taking it with us. I have a feeling whatever technology we were supposed to get, it has to be that. Also, it's got something to do with whatever happened to Jack"

"You got it" she confirmed but also decided to get some information from the computer above the desk since the task of getting Jack to sleep would take a few minutes at least. Jack was still clutching into Mac's arm and when he saw Bozer coming closer, he tightened his grip.

"It's okay. It's just water" he assured his partner because he was eying the bottle suspiciously. Mac hated lying to him, but the sooner they got him knocked out, the sooner they could get out of there.

Mac averted his face when Bozer finally splashed Jack's face so he wouldn't get the chemicals over his face too, and just a few seconds later, Jack slumped forward into Mac, who couldn't help the hiss that escaped him when his broken arm was jostled.

"Mac, are you okay dude?" Bozer asked, having seen the already purple bruises forming in his neck.

"Fine. Help me with him" Mac grunted in response while trying to get up from the floor.  
Eventually and after much uncharacteristic swearing from Mac's part every time his arm reminded him that it was broken, they managed to haul Jack all the way down and out of the building.

Riley set course for the hospital and soon enough Mac found himself explaining to the emergency personnel what had happened. They rushed Jack inside without much explanation because first they needed to find out what was wrong with him.

Once his partner was out of sight, Mac swayed on his feet.

"Whoa" Riley said, putting a hand on his shoulder to stabilize him "Mac you need to get checked out too. You look like crap"

"Yeah, between the hand and the neck, I don't know which one's more swollen than the other" Bozer added "what happened? Tough guard?" the blond shook his head and answered, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice.

"It was Jack" he said and he hated the way his voice just broke at the last word. He cleared his throat and then grimaced at the pain in his neck. He really wanted to be able to answer the questions his friends were making because they were the same ones he was also asking himself. How could something like this had happened? What could have possessed his partner to hurt him in such a violent way? A shudder ran down his spine when he remembered the crazy look on Jack's face and he knew, he _knew_ , they must have given him something. Jack would never hurt him like that, he would never...

That was as far as his thoughts went before his knees buckled and he collapsed into Bozer, who had been ready for the adrenalin rush to end and his friend to crash. Nurses came out of everywhere to take him away as well and so Bozer and Riley were left to wait for news on their friends. At least, this time, they wouldn't have to wait alone.

During the two hours that Mac had been unconscious, Riley had used the time to dig into the information she had stolen from the office while Bozer updated Matty on their current status; she assured him there would be a plane waiting to take them home whenever Jack and Mac were let out of the hospital. Sooner, even, if she knew her agents at all.

Suddenly, Riley demanded his attention.

"Boze, get a doctor. I think I know what happened to Jack"

Having found one of the most recent files on a torture device that looked exactly like the helmet Mac had made her grab, Riley explained to the doctor currently attending to Jack what she was able to understand after having translated the file from German to english in order to be able to read it. She supposed it would have been easier to let the german doctor read the german file, but she wasn't sure it was a good idea considering their classified status and all, but Riley had understood enough to tell the doctor one thing: sensory overload.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

"That explains a lot" said Mac after the information had been relayed to him two hours later when he had finally woken up with a cast in his arm and a sling around his shoulder to help him support it. His neck was swollen and he had purple finger shaped bruises all over it, reminding him of how very close his own partner had come to ending his life, which only spoke of how out of it Jack had actually been "Is he going to be okay though?"

"Doctors say that he's gonna recover quickly. He was injected with some sensitivity enhancer that made the whole ordeal with the helmet that much worse and that's why it took him so long to get out of hyoer alert mode and finally recognize you" Riley explained "the drug just needs to be flushed completely out of his system although his senses will still be kind of sensible for the next couple of days. The doctor said it'll feel like one hell of a hangover for a while, but other than that, he should be fine"

Mac sighed and was able to hear the rest of what Riley had to say with a lighter heart now, knowing that his partner was going to be alright eventually. She went on explaining how the technology they were supposed to get was in fact the helmet from hell so, all in all, the mission had been accomplished. Now they just had to get home.

It wasn't until well after midnight that Jack woke up from his chemically induced slumber. The lights in his room were off, which he was eternally grateful for since he didn't think he could see light quite the same way after this whole experience. His ears weren't ringing anymore, although the beeping sounds from the heart monitor sounded higher and more uncomfortable than they should.

Also, his head hurt. A lot.

When he groaned after trying to sit up and having the world beginning to spin around him, a figure stood up from the nearby chair and slowly approached the bed.

"Jack?" Mac asked in a soft voice, not exactly because he was mindful of keeping his voice down for his partner's sake, but because he was uncappable of talking any louder at the moment. Hearing his young partner's raspy voice only served to make Jack remember what he had done and his eyes began to burn.

He had almost killed Mac. He had almost killed his partner, strangling him, right underneath him and it was only by some miracle that he was able to stop in time. But even if he hadn't gone all the way to kill him, he had still hurt him, badly. He looked at the sling and then the casted hand. A broken wrist? What the hell was wrong with him?

"How are you feeling?" Mac asked, stepping closer to the bed and helping Jack into a sitting position since that was obviously what he had been trying to do. He raised the head of the bed so he could still lean back though. Jack didn't answer his question, instead focusing his attention on his lap and when he saw Mac's hand (the not broken one, he thought) getting closer to clasp one of his, he quickly took them away, unaware of yet more hurt that he was inflicting on his friend because his eyes were determined not to look up at his face.

Mac had expected a similar reaction, but that didn't mean the action hadn't hurt. Deeply.

"Jack, you gotta know this isn't your fault. What those bastards did to you..." he trailed off, not wanting to say aloud what they had done; they both knew it very well "Jack, I don't blame you, so you shouldn't either" Jack kept looking at his hands as if they had been covered in blood, which they might as well just have been.

"I almost killed you" he said in a whisper.  
" But you didn't" Mac emphasized.

"But I almost did!" Jack stressed, this time meeting Mac's eyes, not caring that the tears he had felt burning in his eyes just a few moments before were now falling freely down his cheeks.

"Jack..." Mac's own eyes were watering. He wasn't going to deny that the whole experience had rattled hum but he, in no way, blamed his partner for what had happened. Jack didn't let him continue though.

"No Mac! I promised I would never hurt you. That I would never... And look what I did! I know how I broke your wrist and how much I was squeezing, I remember it all. I promised I wouldn't hurt you" he finished, his heart monitor accelerin just a bit.

"Hey. Listen" Mac's voice wavered, for a completely different reason than his sore neck "yes, it hurt. But you didn't hurt _me_ , Jack; not in the way you promised you would never do" he said, remembering that day all too way so many years ago now. He made a move to take a hold of the other man's hand again and when Jack make to move them away, Mac just latched on quicker and held it firmly within his own "You and me? We're good. You were the one hurt and you didn't know what you were doing at the time. I don't blame you, no one does. So please, please, don't blame yourself and don't pull away from me because that would hurt much worse than a broken hand" he couldn't quite believe himself how open and emotional he was being right now, but somehow it felt right. Jack must have understood then the intensity of his statement because he then lunged forward and enveloped Mac in a hug. He was careful of his sling, but still held on tightly. There weren't many occasions in which their roles were reversed like this: Mac giving a hurting Jack comfort, especially of the emotional kind since Mac was the one who always had trouble handling his emotions, choosing instead to bottle them up inside of him. This time though, letting them out felt just right.

"I'm sorry" he heard Jack say.

"I know. I'm sorry too" he replied, burying his head in the crook of Jack's neck and deciding to just lay it all out since they were already having such a heartfelt conversation "don't ever pull away from me again" he said, his voice gruff.

"I won't" Jack promised before breaking the hug and leaning back against the bed.

Both men wiped their faces since there was no denying now that they had been crying, some semblance of embarrassment actually creeping into their cheeks. Mac then called the doctor in so he could check Jack over and it wasn't long after that that the team of Phoenix agents strolled out of the hospital to head over their exfil coordinates. The sooner they got out of Germany, the better.

Mac and Jack didn't speak again for the entire flight home. They both needed their time to sleep but even when they were awake, no further words were necessary. They had already said everything they needed to say inside that hospital room and they both knew that things were alright between them.

That didn't mean their nights for the upcoming weeks weren't plagued by nightmares. Quite the contrary since Jack had woken up a couple of times after having relived the moment he almost killed his partner in his mind over and over again and having to call Mac in the middle of the night just to reassure himself that he hadn't actually done it.

Mac never failed to answer and he never complained about it. Then both men would meet at work the next day and give a reassuring nod to each other, one that meant not only that the midnight call hadn't bother Mac, but that he could keep calling as long as he needed until he felt better.

Jack had never been more grateful to have such an amazing son... FRIEND! His brain corrected. And then he smiled, because he didn't mind the slip up at all.

Not at all.

 **THE END – FINITO – FIN**

 **There you have it! I wrote this almost in one go and it felt so good to just having the words flow almost effortlessly out of me that I needed to post this first instead of the other chapter I had already started on Jack. I'm not erasing anything, I'm just gonna wait until it feels right enough to write. I hope this was good enough for the Jack lovers of the world so, please, let me know! I'm interested to see the reaction of this chapter, so please leave a review with your thoughts! Thanks!**


	17. A Can full of Worms

**Hello! I'm back with another oneshot. I know it's been awhile, but I haven't had time to write anything. School and work haven't been kind to me. Also, I had meant to get more progress on my other story "Running" because I really like the plot, but my muse hasn't been present these past few days. I decided to write another chapter for this story instead. I'm sure that once season 2 starts (IN JUST A WEEK) I'll get inspired and work on that one.**

 **In the mean time: I hope you like this! It's been running around in my head for some time. I'm not sure I got the characters right this time, but I hope it satisfies.**

 **Summary: when Mac is kidnapped and his father is used as leverage against him, he can't help but think that this wasn't the family reunion he had been hoping for.**

 **WARNINGS: emmm there might be more swearing than usual, and your typical violence.**

 **CHAPTER 17: A Can full of Worms**

The blow had come out of nowhere.

He had been walking from his jeep to the front door of his house when all of a sudden pain had exploded at the back of his head. He had landed hard on the floor but, although his head felt like it was going to split open, he hadn't lost consciousness.

What he did lose was his strength to fight back, and so with little effort, whoever had blindsided him got on top of him to secure his hands behind his back. He grunted when the handcuffs were pressed so tightly that his wrists had literally no room to maneuver and the hard metal had already bitten into his skin.

When he was hauled up, he began to struggle past the dizziness and nausea the hit to the head had given him and started kicking backwards, trying to hit the other man's legs; but a hard kick to his side had him moaning in pain and almost losing his footing again. The man wasn't alone, and Mac's blurry vision had prevented him from seeing who else might have been there as well.

"Who are you?" he asked when the man holding him upright began to drag him towards the street, but what he got as an answer was a punch to the face. Now he was sporting a split lip and he could feel the taste of blood in his mouth, which didn't help settle at all the nausea in his stomach.

Mac internally groaned. ' _Great_ ', he thought _'I get taken on the one night Bozer isn't home and Jack didn't drive me back_ '

The squeal of tires made him look up to the black van speeding towards them; there was no license plate that he could he, and the windows were tinted black. Before they reached the vehicle now waiting for them on the street with the door opened, Mac jumped and brought his legs up, using then as leverage to avoid getting thrown into the van by placing his feet on the edge of the door. The trick worked for all of one minute and then the man holding him let him go, which made him fall painfully to the floor, crushing his arms under his weight. The man immediately crouched down and put his arm around Mac's throat, squeezing tightly and cutting off his air supply. Mac tried to fight back, but between the terrible headache and the beating he had already received, black dots started dancing in his eyes pretty quickly and he wasn't able to shake off his attacker. His heart was hammering in his chest at the lack of oxygen and he knew he'd lose consciousness soon. At the very end of the rope, he thought about reaching his phone, but his efforts didn't pay off.

Eventually, he sagged against the man currently choking him and his body convulsed a couple of times before he finally succumbed to the darkness already clouding his vision. He was unconscious in less than two minutes.

When the man let him go, he crumbled the rest of the way to the ground, where he was picked up later and thrown into the van.

The mission had been accomplished. MacGyver had been abducted.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

Mac woke up to a pounding headache and the feeling that he couldn't get enough air into his lungs. He gasped and curled in on himself, willing his breaths to slow down, as well as his racing heart.

What on earth had happened? Who would have wanted to kidnap him? _'I mean, it's not like a lot of people wouldn't want to'_ he thought bitterly, but out of everyone who would, who could have actually done it? And then, his old mentor's voice reminded him of what was really important at the moment: _'Focus on what can kill you now'_

"Right" Mac said out loud, and then focused his eyes in his surroundings. He was in a house room, only it was bare: no bed, no chairs, no drawers, no closet. There was only a barred window from which some moonlight could slip through, the four walls enclosing him and the door. The floor was carpeted and he could see the marks of furniture above it, _'so the place was once full of stuff'_.

Mac did a mental check-up of himself to assess his condition:

Still handcuffed. Checked

Throbbing head. Checked

Hurting jaw. Checked

Bruised side. Checked

Stuck in a room in only God knows were with none of his friends knowing where he was or that he was even missing. Checked.

He was able to get into a sitting position with his back against the wall. He glanced down at his pant pockets and could see that his phone had been taken away, so no calling for help this time. His swiss army knife had also been removed and, if the search had been through, they would have taken away the pair of paperclips he always carried in the inside of his jacket. Not that he'd be able to reach for those with his hands currently held so tightly behind his back by a pair of handcuffs.

He used the wall for support and managed to get up, inspecting every inch of the bare room and then trying the handle of the door; locked.

"Damn it" he cursed and went back to his previous spot on the floor.

 _Well, this suck. The people that had taken me were either really lucky or they knew me well enough to leave me inside a room with practically nothing I could use to escape, or get out of this handcuffs that were really starting to bug me. Even if I had something to pick the lock with, I didn't have enough room to maneuver my wrists with how tight the things were.  
Anyway, since there was nothing I could do at the moment, I was just gonna have to wait._

As it turned out, he didn't have to wait very long after that, because he could hear many sets of footsteps coming closer to the door. He stood up and got ready to face his kidnappers, ready to know who was behind it the minute the door opened.

He really didn't know who to expect on the other side. It could be literally anyone, from a drug dealer to a mafia boss to even Murdoc (yes, the possibility had crossed his mind), but what had actually happened, he had been totally unprepared for.

When the door opened, a couple of men with guns walked in, weapons trained on him to prevent him from doing anything like attempting to escape. Then another one walked in, dragging with him a struggling figure that had a black hood covering his face. For an excruciating moment, Mac thought it might be one of his friends, but even though he couldn't see the person's face, the built just wasn't right.

The man was thrown to the floor and left there. The room door was closed and locked again and now Mac was left standing facing the hooded man.

"We're alone" Mac stated "you can take the hood off" the mysterious captive didn't have his hands restrained, so he was able to just reach up and take the black material off his head. When the person underneath was revealed, Mac gasped "Y-you?" he stuttered out of surprise "What? How?" the other man looked up, surprise written all over his face as well.

"Angus?" it was his father. His father! How the hell did this happen?

"W-what are you doing here? How did they...? How did they find you?" at the end of that question there was a hint of frustration hidden there. Mac had spent a few weeks looking for his father with Jack's help after the breach in Phoenix and Murdoc's escape, but every lead had been a dead end and eventually he had been forced to come back to work and continue his search during his free time. Jack had never stopped helping, but it just seemed to be impossible. Finding his father had been impossible, which had led him to believe that maybe Murdoc had already gotten to him and he was dead, which was obviously not the case.  
If Mac hadn't been able to find him using all the resources available to him, how could these people had done it? Did it mean that Murdoc was behind it after all?

"Jesus, Angus, I can't believe it's you! What's going on? What are we doing here?" his dad asked, a hint of fear in his voice "What do these people want with us?"

Mac didn't know how to answer that, he was still star struck at the fact that his father was standing right in front of him and there was a storm of emotions swirling inside of him. So, his dad was alive, which sent an unexpectedly strong wave relief coursing through his veins and he was here, in LA, which made him angry at the fact that he hadn't been able to find him while being so close. He had even gone to look in other countries!

There was also that familiar anger at the fact that his father had never made an effort to reconnect with him, and the sadness that always accompanied the memory of him leaving when he was only a little kid.

"Are you okay?" his dad suddenly asked, interrupting his train of thought. His dad was looking at the bruise already forming and the split lip on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Mac wasn't sure what to say to the man. He hadn't seen him in over eight years and everything he had wanted to say had been written into a letter than was never delivered. He wasn't sure he had the guts to say those things in person and, either way, this wasn't the time or the place to be having a heart felt conversation.

"Maybe I should help you out with those?" his dad asked, pointing towards his bound hands. Mac shrugged.

"Unless you have a bobby pin or something else I could use to pick the lock, there's no way out of them" even though he didn't have anything on him he could use, that didn't stop his dad from stepping closer to him and going behind his back to inspect the handcuffs. Mac felt the hairs at the back of his head stand on end at the violation of his personal space. This man was his father, but he was a stranger to Mac, and he didn't like people he didn't know getting too close to him. He remained quiet though, and let the man run his hands over the metal cuffs. Mac was afraid if he stepped away he would insult his dad or something and... _'What the hell?_ ' what did he care about insulting the man or not?

"They won't miraculously open" he said, taking a step forward and turning around to face his father "What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice adopting a slightly irritated tone. His dad regarded him with a confused look.

"I just got kidnapped" the man replied matter of factly "I don't know why" he seemed sincere enough and when he looked away, Mac began to think that this must have been maybe as uncomfortable as it was for him. Being kidnapped together wasn't exactly the way he had pictured a family reunion with his father and he was sure his dad hadn't imagined it like that either, if he had imagined one at all.

"When they grabbed you, did they tell you anything, did they mention a name?"

"Nothing, Angus, they just appeared out of nowhere and forced me into a car at gunpoint. Do you know anything about this?" Mac sighed and considered the question. He didn't know specifically why he'd been taken, but he knew it had something to do with his job. He just couldn't tell his father that.

"I don't know" he lamented and then turned towards the door because footsteps could be heard again before the rattling of keys. When the door opened, the same armed men as before made their way in.

"Get on your knees!" they ordered and both captives could do nothing but comply. The guns never wavered and Mac thought the men would just shoot then right there, but where was the point in kidnapping them when they could have just been hit on the street.

Once they were kneeling and facing the door, a man walked in. He wasn't carrying a weapon, but a white folder instead.

"Ah, Mr. MacGyver. I've been wanting to meet you" the man greeted looking directly at Mac, making it clear which Mr. MacGyver he had been talking to.

"Who are you?" Mac would've liked to answer with something snarkier like: _'I wish I could say the same_ ' or something along the lines of what Jack usually does when facing unknown criminals. But he had to maintain the facade of a scared hostage in front of his father. He couldn't find out what he really did for a living "What do you want with us?"

"I need your help to acquire something"

"What are you talking about?" Mac asked.

"I need access to your bioweapons storage" the man stated.

"His what!?"

"My what!?" both he and his father asked at the same time.

"What do you mean his bioweapon storage?" his dad asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I don't have anything like that" Mac said.

"Please, Mr. MacGyver, save me the 'I don't know what you're talking about' shit and let's just cut to the chase. Give me the codes of access and your father here gets to live" the man finished, indicating one of his goons to point his gun at the head of Mac's dad. His father shrunk from the object and Mac's heart leaped to his throat.

"I really don't know what you're talking about, you must have confused me with someone else. I-" but he was interrupted by the sound of a fist hitting flesh. Not his, but his father's. He looked to his left when one of the goons had attacked his dad by delivering a punch to his head. MacGyver senior almost fell to the floor but was able to regain his balance and spit out a mouthful of blood "What are you doing?" Mac asked, alarmed. As much as his relationship with his father was a rocky one, he didn't want the man to get hurt because of him.

"Give me the access codes and he walks"

"I don't have any access codes, I'm not who you think I am!" he retorted back, careful to maintain his lie, because the moment he told these people anything, both he and his father were as good as dead. It was how it always worked. Another hit directed at his dad and Mac's stomach fell to the floor.

"I know who you are and who you work for, _Angus_ " the man used his name in a mocking way.

"Then you know I work at a think tank. I help develop ideas-" a grunt of pain from his dad "ideas to help improve-" a kick to his dad's stomach "just stop it! I don't know what you want. I'm not who you think I am!" one final blow and his dad was left panting on the floor.

"If I were you I would consider your answers more carefully. We know who you are Mr. MacGyver, so don't try to feed us this bullshit"

"I swear, I'm not-" this time the hit that interrupted him was directed at his own face, and he grunted, feeling the sting spread from his cheek into his already beating head.

"I'll give you some time to think about it" the other man announced and signaled his men to walk out of the room, locking the door again and leaving them alone once more.

"Dad? Dad, are you alright?" he asked, scooting closer to where his father was still laying on the floor. It had been such a long time since he'd used that word to address the man that the three letters felt foreign coming out of his mouth, but he ignored the discomfort in the light of helping his father. The other man grunted when he sat up again and then they both rested their backs against the wall.

"I'm okay" his dad panted before looking up at Mac "What did they mean about bioweapons, son? What have you gotten yourself into?" he asked, and Mac was taken aback by the undertone of disapproval on his father's tone.

"I haven't gotten myself into anything. I don't have any bioweapons" Mac defended.

"There must be a reason why they took you, both of us actually. You must be into some shady stuff to end up kidnapped by people like that. I would never have imagined you to lose your way like that Angus" again, there was that tone of disapproval that Mac just couldn't stand.

"I told you, I haven't gotten myself into anything shady. And you better lose the disapproving parent tone because, even if I had, it's not like you were there to point me in the right direction" his dad flinched at the harsh words, and so did he, but he wouldn't take them back. It was the truth after all, and Mac wasn't a little kid anymore. No one had the right to judge him, and much less his own father. Not after what he had done "If anyone lost his way, it was you dad" he finished and then they stared at each other for a full minute before the silence was broken again.

"It's not like I wanted to" his dad said, regarding Mac with a somewhat sad expression.

"If you hadn't wanted to go, you wouldn't have" Mac accused, completely disregarding his previous thought about this not being the right time or place to have this conversation and, since they had already opened the can, they might as well just let all the warms out "Why did you go?" he asked, because, despite having met with his father about over eight years ago, he'd never gotten the courage to ask him the reason behind the decision to abandon his own son. MacGyver senior sighed.

"I really loved your mother, you know? She's been the only woman I have ever loved that much" that wasn't the answer Mac had been expecting, but the topic change distracted him enough to not want to interrupt "she was smart, beautiful, kind. A real artist too" his dad had adopted a faraway look while talking about his mother, and Mac was glad he wasn't looking directly at him. He didn't want his father to see the emotions playing in his eyes at hearing about his mother first hand "We were happy Angus, and I do miss the days when it was just the three of us"

Mac gulped. So his father miss those days too? Before he had been abandoned, Mac still held wonderful memories of his father. Before his mom had died, they had been a happy family and he often dreamed about going back in time and staying there forever, in a moment and place where he had been just like any other kid: innocent and loved. But then his mom had gotten sick and his dad had split, and things were never the same after that.

"When she died, I was so heartbroken. I... You just look so much like her Angus, it was like seeing her everyday but not having her with me. Since the moment you were born you were the spitting image of your mother and I was genuinely happy about that, but when she died... I couldn't stand it, I just couldn't" he voice broke and he looked away. Mac was left staring speechless at his father. His breathing had become agitated and his eyes were beginning to burn suspiciously.

"You mean you couldn't stand me" he stated, hating how vulnerable his voice had gotten. His father looked up at him.

"That's not what I-"

"That's exactly what you meant. After she died, you couldn't stand to look at me and so you left" Mac couldn't believe it. After all this time, that's the reason his father had abandoned him? Mac began to scoot away from his dad, not being able to be so close to him right now. When he saw this, MacGyver senior tried to get closer to him "Stay away from me!" Mac stated firmly and his dad stayed put.

Mac kept sliding away until he hit the corner and remained there, making every effort to get his breathing back to normal and to will his unshed tears away.

His father had left him because he looked like his mom? How unfair can that be? It wasn't Mac's fault that his genes made him resemble his mother more, yet, at the same time his father leaving was entirely his fault because it was his face he couldn't stand to look at.

"Angus"

"Shut up" he said, his voice an epitome of control now.

"I didn't-"

"I don't want to talk to you right now" and Mac really didn't care if he sounded like a rebellious teenager snapping at his dad.

"I didn't mean to hurt you" Mac's head snapped up.

"I was already hurting, so you didn't have to mean it much to make it worse" he confessed. After all, his dad hadn't been the only one to lose her that day.

Whatever his dad might have said after that was lost by the sounds of approaching people. _'Here we go again_ ' Mac thought.

"Please son, just tell them what they want. They'll let us go if you do" his father sounded scared and the plea made an indentation in his defensive walls because suddenly Mac felt sorry for the guy. He wasn't used to this kind of situations like he was and the prospect of getting beaten while being questioned for information was something even a seasoned agent like himself dreaded every time. He could only imagine how scared his father was right now.

"I can't. I don't have what they want" and it was true. After the incident at Phoenix, security had been tighter and Oversight had decided to implement new access codes to every facility inside the building, shortening the list of people cleared to have access to some of them, like the bioweapons room, and his team hadn't been given the new code. So even if his cover was blown, he still didn't have the information these people wanted.

When the door opened, Mac stayed on the ground, knowing he would be asked to get on his knees again. He flinched though, when he father was roughly sent to the ground and a kick was delivered to his midsection even before the questioning started.

"Are you ready to tell me the codes?" Mac internally sighed; this was going to be a long night.

"How many times do I have to tell you: I don't have what you want because I'm not who you think I am"

"Boy, you really must not care much about your father" the man apparently in charge of this whole operation taunted "I mean, maybe I should've foreseen that, since he abandoned you when you were so little" Mac didn't let the shock register on his face. So this man actually knew who he was, not just where he worked, but about his past as well. The man kept talking "Maybe you actually just don't care what happens to him" he finished and then the two goons started to really work on his dad. Sending kicks and fists flying all around. Mac couldn't stand it anymore.

"Stop it!" he said, getting to his feet.

"Are you gonna save daddy and tell me what I want?" Mac knew, he _knew_ , he couldn't say anything and risk them both getting killed afterwards, but he didn't want his father to keep suffering because of him, no matter how angry he was at the man.

"How am I supposed to tell you something I don't know!?" he yelled, coming closer to the party of people in the center of the room.

"They must have told you. You're their star agent!" the man bellowed.

"What are you talking about!? I'm not anyone's agent!" things were quickly escalating and his father was taking the worst of it "Listen, whatever you think I know, it's me you want. Not him. So stop hurting him" the beating stopped for a second and Mac caught his dad's eyes, who was looking up at him from the floor with something resembling awe in his eyes.

"And you would sacrifice yourself for your dad?"

"He's got nothing to do with this" Mac said.

"So you admit you know what I'm talking about" the other man stated confidently.

"I don't" Mac responded "but obviously you think I do, so whatever you want just square it off with me, not with him"

"Well, how valiant of you" the man said and then turned to one of his men "take him outside and kill him" he ordered, pointing towards the man on the floor, whose eyes widened in fear.

"No!" Mac yelled, surprised at the sudden turn of events. He surged forward to try and stop his father from being taken away, and soon enough he was engaged in a battle, one that he was obviously losing if the amount of hits he was taking was any indication. Fighting with his hands behind his back was a serious disadvantage, especially since hand to hand combat wasn't exactly one of his strengths, it was Jack's, and he found himself wishing he had been kidnapped along with him, as awful as that sounded, Mac was sure the two of them would've found a way out already.

A particularly hard blow to his stomach had him falling to his knees gasping for air and then an elbow driven into his head had him seeing starts and falling completely to the floor, next to his father.

The man in charge stepped closer to him and knelt by his side, taking a fistful of his hair and pulling on it to speak directly into his face. Mac couldn't suppress the groan that escaped him.

"I'll give you one more chance. When I come back, I want those codes or else dear old daddy dies"

Mac caught his head when the man released his hair so it wouldn't hit the floor and then remained there, watching the group of men walking out the door.

His father seemed to recover first and came closer to him.

"Angus. Angus! You okay?" Mac groaned when he turned on his side, relieving the pressure from his ribs and chest, and took several deep breaths.

"Dad, I need your help with something" he said "Can you open the cuffs?"

"What? With what, exactly?"

"The keys. I got them off one of them" Mac answered, opening one of his fists and showing the small set of keys to his dad.

"How did you do that?" his father asked, clearly impressed.

"I remembered the one who cuffed me put something in his pocket. I hoped it would be the keys"

"You're unbelievable" his dad muttered, but came closer to take the keys from his hand and then proceeded to uncuff him.

The moment he felt his wrists being freed, he sighed out loud. His shoulders were hurting from the pulled back position and his wrists were cut and bloodied. He didn't waste any more time though. He got painfully back to his feet, rubbings his hands and looking around, trying to formulate a plan. He walked to the barred window, looking for weaknesses in the structure or any lose screws he could use to his advantage.

"Angus, what are you doing?" MacGyver senior could see his son was thinking deeply about something, and he was walking from one side of the room to the other like a mad man searching for something that wasn't there.

"Looking for something to help us get out" Mac answered without looking at him.

"Looking for what? There's nothing here"

"There's always something" Mac said, looking at his dad for the first time since being released and wincing at what he saw "Are you okay?" he asked, because his father's face was covered in cuts and bruises.

"I'm fine. And you're not looking any better"

"I'm fine" Mac answered back, and they stared into each other for a second before looking away. Mac resumed his train of thought, looking for a way out, but his dad interrupted him again.

"Angus, there's no way out"

"Listen, dad, I don't have what these people want. So unless you wanna sit around and wait for another beating to come by, I suggest you help me figure something out. By the way, I'm gonna need your shoelaces"

"What? What do you need my shoelaces for?" his dad asked, confused "And it doesn't make any sense that these people kidnapped you if they didn't think you have what they want. Why not just give it to them?"

"The moment I tell them something remotely true, we're both dead. Now, give me the laces" Mac replied, starting to lose his patience

"So you _do_ know something Angus. You're caught up in something bad, aren't you?" his dad insisted, intent on getting to the bottom of things. Mac stopped pacing around and faced his father with barely controlled frustration. He needed to work on his plan before the bad guys came back and his dad's questions were only slowing him down.

"Okay, listen. I do work for who they think I work for, alright? I'm not caught into anything bad, I just work for the government" his dad's expression was shocked and he had finally shut up "the problem is, I really don't have what they want. I don't have enough clearance to know. So the only way for us to get out of here alive is to try and escape, or at least fight our way out. Which is why I need your shoelaces so, please..." Mac took a deep breath after confessing to his father the truth behind the kidnapping and extended his arm in a gesture that was meant to hurry the other man in giving him the object he kept asking for. MacGyver senior stood dumbfounded for a moment, before he was able to reply.

"Well, that really is a bummer" he said, all traces of fear or shock leaving his face "you really don't know the codes" he stated and now it was Mac's turn to be dumbfounded.

"What?" he asked, while his father walked to the door and knocked on it three times.

"Yo, guys! You can open up now!" he yelled.

"Dad, what are you talking about? What are you doing?" he tried, he really tried not to let his voice waver, but it was very hard given the events unfolding in front of him right now. The door opened and the man in charge walked towards his father, handing him a gun and a small towel to wipe away some of the blood from his face "Dad?" Mac asked, his heart beating painfully in his chest. MacGyver senior seemed to remember that his son was standing right there, and when he turned to face him, his eyes, for every bit of blue that they were, just like his own, were filled with cold as well.

"You really do look like your mother" was all he said before stepping away and closing the door behind him.

Mac was left standing where he was, mouth hanging open in horror and breaths coming out in irregular gasps. He started to feel lightheaded and as if the walls were closing in on him. He knew what was happening, and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop it: a panic attack.  
His father was behind the kidnapping? He was a criminal? How long had he known about Mac and where he worked?

His mind traveled back to barely an hour ago when his father was telling him how much he had loved his mother and how he missed the happy moments. Had he been lying? How could he have betrayed him like this, again? It hadn't been enough to walk out on him when he was a kid, now he had to play dirty mind games too?

Mac backed up all the way to the wall and slid down until he was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall. He was getting dizzier by the second and he felt like he was suffocating. The fact that he was completely alone now only served to crush him further after his father's betrayal.

"Calm down, calm down, calm down..." he repeated, willing himself to slow down his breathing and wiping furiously at a stray tear making its way down his face "This doesn't change anything" he also said, looking to convince himself of the fact that very little had changed in his life with this revelation. Up until earlier that night, his father had just been a ghost of his past. A dick who had never done any right by him since he had left, so finding out he was actually a criminal shouldn't have made a differece. Mac was still Mac, and he still needed to get out of that place. But he couldn't deny to himself that it hurt; being played like that hurt, a lot.

He was left alone to wonder about what would happen to him next for about an hour in which he used the minutes to work on a device made of shoelaces and the pair of handcuffs that would help him fight his way out of the room. He was definitely not going to get taken down by someone like his father.

He was just finishing the last touches to his improvised weapon when the door opened and his dad walked in, surrounded by his goons and the man he had mistaken for the one in charge; his father was calling the shots now.

"Time to go" his father said, gesturing for him to get up.

"Where are we going?" Mac asked, thankful that he'd been able to shove his feelings deep inside his brain and now his voice was even and professional.

"Well, if you don't know the codes, then there's no other reason to keep you around" the other man responded lightly, as if he was a dog someone decided to keep or not on their backyard "Come on" was all his father said before walking out, trusting his men to bring Mac out as well.

His arms were grabbed on either side and he was led at gunpoint outside of the room and through the rest of a one-story house. When they stepped through the front door, Mac could see that the house was in a very remote location. There weren't many houses around and the place was dark, only illuminated by the moon shining high above the ground.

He was pushed into a black SUV, with a goon on either side of him, making sure he behaved, and his father got behind the wheel, turning on the vehicle and driving away. The tension inside the card was palpable, and the silence spoke volumes. Mac wanted to pay attention to his surroundings in case he recognized anything, but the best he could do was figure out they were driving farther out of town.

The roads were getting less crowded and farther apart from each other, until they were the oenly vehicle on a dirt road leading nowhere especial.

They got out of the car.

Mac had calculated the best way to take down the men holding his arms so he could reach for his improvised weapon and fight his way to freedom. His father had gotten careless, bringing only two muscles as protection, probably thinking Mac had been rendered temporarily useless by the stunning revelation of his double play. Mac played along, of course, not struggling or fighting back until the right moment.

Right now, no gun was drawn. His father, as well as the two other men, had their weapons holstered and were trusting Mac to be cooperative. Big mistake.

The moment his father turned away from him to start leading the way forward into the woods, Mac stuck his heels on the ground and yanked one of his arms free, reaching into his pocket and extracting the handcuffs. He had tied his own shoelaces to the cuffs, which gave him some range to work the cuffs as some kind of whip. He stepped into someone's foot and then brought his knee up, catching one of the man between the kegs. He turned around and swung his weapon, connecting perfectly with one man's temple and then finishing him off with his own fist to the face.

He got tackled from behind by the other one, but he managed to remain upright, driving his elbow back and then taking a hold of the man's arm to bend over himself and flip the guy up. He stayed down.

Then he turned to face his father, only to be met by the butt of a gun connecting with his head.  
He stumbled to the side and leaned into a tree, bringing his hand up and feeling blood starting to make its way down from a cut on his forehead. When his father trained the gun on him, Mac squared his shoulders.

"What are you going to do, _dad_? Kill your own son?" he asked, hoping to gain some time to think about what to do next.

"It was the plan all along. Even if you don't know the codes, that way at least I can prevent you from sending any more letters" Mac's eyes sharpened at that.

"So you did get my letter?" he asked, feeling more irritated with every passing minute.

"Oh yes, very touching stuff. That whole _'I'm willing to give us a try'_ thing really got to me. I'm sorry to tell you that's not gonna happen" Mac bit his tongue. He wasn't even sure how to respond to that. The man before him was so far away from the man he had once known that he almost didn't recognize him. Against his better judgement, he asked.

"What happened to you?" and he cursed himself for sounding so weak, so much like the little kid his father had left behind.

"Hah! What happened to me?" his dad barked "Life happened, Angus! You think you have everything you've ever wanted and then life tears it apart. When she died I realized love is nothing but a weakness, something that makes you suffer more than any physical pain ever could, so I decided to leave everything I loved behind and force myself never to love again. It's easier that way" of all the things he had just said, Mac focused only on one.

"So you did love me" he said, not as a guess or as a question, but as a fact. His father was taken aback by the comment and the emotion showing in his son's face. A face that reminded him so much of the pain that losing his wife had brought him. He raised the gun higher.

"And loving you made me weak" he was ready to fire, and his words had been final, but Mac had sprung back to life. Instead of throwing himself sideways, he did it forward, catching the gun with his hands and wrestling his father to the ground. A shot went off, but it flew into the sky.

Mac was too busy to realize that there were sounds of approaching people getting louder. He didn't know if they were friendly or not, and he didn't have time to ponder on it. Not like he cared too much about it right now. He could only focus on his father, who was doing everything he could to bring the gun back down and train it on him.

Mac fought hard, making sure to always keep the muzzle of the gun away from himself and trying to make the other man drop it, but a vicious hit to his already bruised ribs had him crying out in pain and losing his hold on the gun. His father managed to put the gun between them, but Mac was quick to recover. He took a hold of it again and began to turn it around. His arms were shaking with the effort and then he made the mistake of looking up when he saw the beam of a flashlight somewhere between the trees surrounding them. That's when his father managed to hook one leg around his and flip their positions on the ground; now his dad was on top of him and he was beginning to lose his grip on the gun.

A few more seconds went by in which shouts could be heard. Mac's brain caught up with the fact that one of those voices was Jack's, but he didn't dare look away and find out. Maybe it was just his desperate imagination conjuring up a voice that had already rescued him countless of times before; maybe it was the real deal. Either way, he couldn't know for sure right now.

His heart felt like it would burst out of his chest, his head was threatening to split open and his arms were shaking. He found his father's eyes and could swear he saw something resembling madness in them.

Suddenly, the gun went off.

The first thing that came to his mind was: _'it isn't like the movies'_ where they show two people fighting for a gun and then not knowing who had been hit after the shot went off. Mac had no doubt about who'd gotten hit by the bullet, because the burning in his stomach was instantaneous. He gasped at feeling the impact and groaned when his father's weight pressed down into the wound. Mac looked up and saw surprise written on his father's face, as if he had just realized what he had done... What he had come here to do in the first place.

"Dad?" Mac's voice was weak and he could already feel tears making their way down his face "Dad..." he whined, and he didn't care if he sounded scared. He _was_ scared. His father had just shot him, for God's sake! The other man said nothing, he simply sat straighter and then got back on his feet. He brought his gun up again, aiming at the fallen figure of his son "Dad!" Mac repeated, bracing himself for the final shot.

Two shots rang out and MacGyver senior staggered back and to side, losing his footing and landing on the ground, next to his son, who couldn't take his eyes off the now lifeless ones staring back at him.

"MAC!" someone yelled, but he couldn't answer back. Then his vision was filled with the image of his partner hovering over him, searching for signs of injury. When Jack's eyes landed on his stomach, he cursed "Shit!"

"Jack! Did you find him?" Bozer's voice came over the comm and he was quick to respond.

"Yes! But he's been shot" he said, and then yelled to one of the agents surrounding them "get a medic over here!" then, he looked at his partner "Mac? Mac, can you hear me? I'm here buddy"

"Jack?" Mac whispered and felt a wave of relief hit him when his eyes finally found the older agent's face. Mac gasped and let out a sob he had been holding.

"Yeah, it's me bud. I got you, you're gonna be fine" Jack said, trying to reassure Mac as much as himself. He used his bare hands to press down on Mac's wound, eliciting a cry from the younger man and then Mac's eyes slid close "No! Mac! Open your eyes!" nothing, he had lost consciousness "Don't do this to me, come on! Where's that damn medic!" he yelled again, just in time for a pair of paramedics to make their way over to them.

"Jack, what's happening?" Riley asked, who was also back at Phoenix and had been the one to track Mac down to this general location.

"He's being loaded into the ambulance" Jack said, unable to keep the fear out of his voice. Mac looked paler than he'd ever seen him and the amount of blood still coming out of his wound was a startling contrast against his white skin.

"Get him to medical now" Matty ordered "there's a team already waiting for him"

"We're on our way" Jack confirmed, having already jumped into the back of the ambulance with Mac and one of the paramedics.

While the medic worked around his partner, cutting off his shirt and stacking the wound with gauze, Jack held the younger one's hand firmly, willing him to fight his way back to the living.

"Come on brother" he whispered.

When they arrived at the Foundation, Riley, Matty and Bozer were waiting for them and they were all taken aback by the sight of their friend, pale and bloodied being wheeled into the operating room on the hospital wing.

"What the hell happened?" asked Matty, once Jack came back from the bathroom after cleaning his hands of his partner's blood.

"We got to him too late. We had divided into a few teams to search the lesser roads were Riley said it was the best chance of the vehicle taking, and then we heard a gunshot. That pointed us in the right direction but another shot went off before I could reach him. He was already on the ground when we got there and all I could do was kill that son of a bitch because he was ready to fire at Mac again and he was conscious when I got to him but he didn't last long and-"

"JACK!" his head snapped down and he locked eyes with Matty "breathe" she ordered, and he did. He had gotten so caught up in the telling of what had happened that he'd forgotten to breathe and only now that he did it, did he realize the lack of oxygen in his lungs.

"So, who took him? Who were those guys?" Riley asked.

"We don't know yet. Two of them are alive though. The other one's gonna be brought so we can ID him" Jack answered. Bozer, who had been away that night and had been called in as soon as Mac was found to be missing, asked.

"But Mac's gonna be okay, right? I mean. He's been shot before and he survived"

"He was shot in the stomach. Those wounds aren't instantly fatal, a person can actually last a couple of days with a wound like that, but he lost so much blood..." Jack said, trailing off on the last part.

"MacGyver's strong" Matty said "we have to have faith in him"

"How long do you think the surgery will take? How long until we know?" Riley asked.

"I guess we're about to find out" Jack said, pointing to a doctor making his way over to them.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

It had been two days already, and Mac hadn't woken up yet. He had made it through surgery, and the doctors were optimistic about his recovery. He had been lucky, they had said, because the bullet hadn't hit anything vital.

Jack disagreed though. If anything, he was now sure that Mac was the unluckiest kid in the whole world.

The day after getting kidnapped and rescued, the Phoenix coroner had been able to ID the man that had shot at Mac and Jack had been rendered speechless for a good hour or so.

His father. Mac had been kidnapped and shot by his own father and Jack had killed the man right in front of the kid. That, on Jack's book, wasn't being lucky, at all.

He almost dreaded the moment Mac woke up, because then he would have to deal with the aftermath of what was truly a traumatizing experience. Jack feared the consequences something like this could have on Mac's psyche, and his hate for the now late MacGyver senior only grew with every moment that passed and his partner still didn't wake up.

Jack was currently inside Mac's room, watching the kid's chest rise and fall with every breath and taking comfort in the act that he was breathing on his own. His vitals were as good as could be expected and the wound was healing nicely, according to the doctors. None of that would reassure Jack as much as watching his partner open his eyes.

It took him the rest of the day to be rewarded for his constant vigil, but he jumped in joy at the first signs of Mac waking up from his slumber. First, it had been the twitching of a finger, then his brow getting furrowed, his heart monitor spiking up and, finally, his eyes opening ever so slowly.

"Mac? Hey, are you with me?" Jack took one of his hands to let him know that he wasn't alone. Mac blinked slowly and took in his surroundings. He was in a hospital, and not just any hospital, but Phoenix's. He was no longer trapped inside a room with his father, or in the woods fighting for his life. Then his eyes landed on Jack "Hey buddy, you scared the hell out of me" he said, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.

Mac didn't answer, he didn't know how; he just kept looking at him, trying to understand how someone who shouldn't have given a damn about him when they met was able to show him so much love and support, as opposed to his own father, who had nearly killed him. His eyes began to fill with tears, tears he wasn't strong enough to hold back and that started running freely down his cheeks.

"What is it? Are you in pain?" Jack reached for the call button and pressed on it feverishly until someone came into the room. Mac tried to tell him that he wasn't crying because of the pain, but his partner was ushered out of the room while the medic team worked on assessing his recovering patient. Jack would've given anything to stay at Mac's side, but he cared for his well being too much to stand on the way of the doctors making sure he was alright.

By the time he was allowed back in the room, he had already let the others know that Mac had woken up.

When he walked back into the room, he found a better composed Mac. There were no more tears at the moment, and the head of his bed had been raised so he wasn't laying completely down.

"Hey kiddo. How'ya feeling?" he asked, a big grin showing on his face. Mac smiled back.

"Better" he said, his voice still soft, but firm.

"You better be, you've been sleeping for the past two days" the older man joked.

"Yeah..." there was a minute of silence before Mac gathered the courage to ask "What happened-?"

"You got shot" Jack hadn't let him finish the question before answering "I'm sorry I couldn't find you sooner Mac"

"That's not-"

"Not my fault?" Jack interrupted again "Good luck trying to talk me out of it. If I had been one minute earlier, we wouldn't be stuck at medical right now, we'd be-"

"Jack" Mac interrupted him this time, a serious expression on his face "What happened to him?" he asked, and Jack knew who he was talking about.

"He's dead" Jack stated, and Mac looked down. He wasn't sure what he was feeling right now, although sadness wasn't exactly the strongest emotion in the room "listen, Mac" Jack began to talk again, and Mac's eyes went up to look at him "I'm not going to apologize for what I did. He was gonna kill you and I couldn't let that happen. I'm just sorry it had to come to that" he finished. Mac gulped and nodded. He didn't want to risk speaking when his voice could break at any moment; he didn't want to show sadness at his father's death, not after what he had done. Jack, though, he misunderstood the silence for anger or disapproval "I'm sorry it had to end like that, and I know he was your father Mac, but he was going to shoot you again, so I didn't have a choice"

Mac kept looking at him with a frown over his face, which wasn't helping Jack and his fear that maybe his partner now hated him for killing his dad. So he kept rambling, like he did whenever he was nervous "... And so I had to do it. I needed to get to you and he was ready to kill you, so please don't hate me. I know he was your father, but please don't hate me" he finished, begging his partner to say something, anything, that would make the fear go away; the fear that he had unknowingly damaged the relationship between them. He hadn't known who the other man was when he had fired those shots, but he would've done the same thing even if he had somehow known who he had been killing. No one came before Mac, no one.

So, yes, Jack Dalton pleaded his partner not to hate him for it and he felt like crying when the next words came out of the blond agent.

"That man wasn't my dad" Mac stated, his voice small but his eyes set with determination "My real father hasn't left my side since the moment I met him"

Jack's lip trembled and he had to close his eyes to prevent a river from breaking free of its dam.

"I love you buddy" he said, after clearing his throat to be able to talk.

"I love you too Jack"

 **THE END – FINITO – TERMNADO**

 **What do you think? Did you enjoy it? I can't help but thinking that the characters were a bit OC on this one, but I think I'm okay with that.**

 **I would love to hear your comments and whether or not you would like to see a kind of epilogue in which Mac comes to terms with what happened. I have a general idea in my mind and it would be a great scenario for some h/c between our boys, but I'm not sure if I should write it into a new oneshot. What do you say?**


	18. With a Little Help from your Friends

**Hello! I'm back, finally! This weeks had been CRAZY but the new chapter is finally here. It is shorter than my usual, but I still hope you like it. This can be considered like an epilogue, I guess, of last chapter "A Can full or Worms", so if you haven't read that one, I suggest you do or this will make no sense at all!**

 **Having said that: I wanted to thank each and every one of you for your reviews, favorites and followers. You motivate me to write so much! And, believe me, I need this in my life, specially right now.**

 **I can't wait to see what your guys think of this new chapter!**

 **Summary: after the events of "A Can full of Worms", hos is Mac coping with meeting his father and being betrayed again by him? His friends are worried and Jack is about ready to make an intervention, because it seems like Mac has stopped taking care of himself.**

 **CHAPTER 18: With a Little Help from your Friends**

He wasn't sleeping. He wasn't eating. He wasn't building anything. He just simply wasn't recovering.

It had been two weeks since Mac had been let out of the hospital, and four weeks after he had been kidnapped and shot by his own father. No matter how many times he said it or how hard he tried to convince everyone of the contrary, Mac wasn't coping and Jack couldn't keep standing by and watch his brother suffer like that, specially at the hands of his father, again. His dead father, that is.

After the first time Mac had woken up in the hospital and they'd had that heartfelt conversation, the young agent had seemed to be on the mend. He enjoyed visitors and, for once, he wasn't giving the medical staff any reason to complain; he was being a good patient and he was being, well, patient, with his recovery. Maybe that should've been Jack's first clue: when was Mac ever patient in medical?

His bullet wound was healing nicely, according to the doctors and he was let out of the Phoenix hospital at least one week earlier than any normal patient would have been, because Mac was anything but an ordinary patient. His body's ability to recover quicker than was the norm was both a blessing and a curse. Jack thanked God every time they had to depend on Mac's body to heal fast, but he hated how Mac sometimes thought he could get away with putting himself in danger for the sake of the missions. However it may be, for all the progress he had done while still at the hospital, he was taking more steps backwards being at home.

Since the bullet wound was in his stomach, he'd been forced to endure a light diet but Mac had taken the restrictions to the next level and he only ate when directly prompted by any of his friends, specially Bozer, who had gone beside himself to make every allowed dish as tasty as he could. Mac still wasn't eating much, which resulted in him losing a fair amount of weight and feeling tired all the time. The whole scenario painfully reminded Jack of the one mission they truly never talked about with anyone else, not even between themselves if they could help it. Picturing a skinnier than skinny Mac suffering through inanition made Jack's resolve harder to do some kind of intervention with his partner and help bringing him back to normal. If he wasn't going to talk to shrink (everyone had suggested that and Mac had profusely refused), he would at least talk to Jack.

The day was wednesday, and although Riley and Bozer were both at work, Jack had been granted some free time to be with Mac during his recovery. As partners in the field, there was no Jack without Mac and no Mac without Jack. Matty had come to understand and accept that they were a package deal.

So here they were, a sunny wednesday afternoon, sitting around the firepit even though it wasn't turned on and Mac was staring out, contemplating the city and willing the hours to go by while Jack was staring at him, willing himself to break the silence.

Approaching the subject wasn't easy. Ever since the kidnapping, whenever Mac and Jack were alone, there was always this big pink elephant in the room, an elephant they both knew the name of, yet refused to discuss it. Mac had made it clear that he didn't blame Jack for his father's death. He understood his older partner had done what he had done in order to save his life, and he had assumed he'd be okay with that, with Jack having no other choice; but Jack could see that wasn't the case, and since ignoring the problem hadn't helped so far, they might as well face it.

"Hey, Mac?" he started, bringing his young partner's attention to himself. Mac didn't turn to look at him, but he did answer.

"Yeah?" Mac's tone of voice was dull, as it had been since he had gotten home, but Jack didn't think he used that tone when talking to him because he was angry or anything. He'd used that tone with Riley and Bozer as well. Mac used that tone when he was trapped inside his own head, and it was about time they figured out why.

"We need to talk" Jack never thought he'd be on the giving end of the four most dreaded words ever known to men, and he realized for the first time that they were as hard to say as they were to hear.

"Sure. What about?" Mac said, not showing really much interest.

"You" Jack replied gravelly, and that caught Mac's attention enough to make him turn his head and look at him.

"What about me?" his voice not as dull as before, but not giving away what he was feeling at the moment either. Jack hesitated. He didn't want to drive Mac farther away by pushing him to talk; but he needed to remind himself: ignoring the problem doesn't make it go away.

"I was just wondering how you're doing"

"Oh, the same" the younger man answered, thinking that Jack was asking about his physical state. Jack would consider himself a coward later for taking the life raft thrown at him in the hopes of delaying the inevitable.

"You mean, the wound's still hurting?" Jack knew Mac's wound was still giving him trouble, and it was a matter that concerned him greatly. He hadn't gotten any better since getting out of the hospital and, either Mac was fooling everyone and he wasn't taking his painkillers, or they weren't working as they should.

"Sometimes" Mac said, putting his arm protectively around his middle, although the wound wasn't hurting him now. He knew Jack was worried, and he should be, because the injury had been bothering him more than it should at this point, and he _was_ taking his meds. There was an uncomfortable silence, one that didn't happen very often between them and that ended up prompting Jack to continue with his mission.

"Listen bud, I gotta tell you. I'm starting to get a little concerned here"

"I'm sure it'll heal soon Jack. I just need more time"

"It's been four weeks now, you should be healing faster than this" Jack countered, not sure himself if he was referring to the GSW or the other kind of wound Mac's father had inflicted.

"Four weeks isn't a long time. Last time I needed three months"

"Three months to grieve buddy, but not that much for the bullet in your chest" finally, he managed to get a reaction.

"Well, this isn't Nikki we're talking about. It's my dad" Mac stated, his voice changing from dull to annoyed. ' _Yep_ ' Jack thought, _'definitely talking about the elephant in the room'_

Mac glanced at his partner but quickly looked away, as if ashamed for lashing out like that.

"Sorry, I didn't mean..." he started to apologize.

"There's nothing to apologize for, Mac, you have every right to be angry at me" Jack hurried to say and Mac sighed, resigned because this conversation was taking place.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm..." but he trailed off, running a hand through his hair and clearing his throat against the sudden tightness inside. Jack thought he would finish his sentence, but the younger man remained quiet.

"What is it Mac? You know you can talk to me" Mac could feel his eyes beginning to burn and he shook his head, making it clear he didn't want to continue with this conversation. Jack could see the monumental effort his best friend was making to keep his emotions in check and it pained him to see the struggle "You gotta talk about it sometime. It's gonna eat you up inside if you don't" Mac knew, _he knew_ , Jack was right; but why was it so damn hard to even open his mouth right now? His breathing was starting to increase, and panic would soon make an appearance. Sensing this, Jack put a hand on his brother's shoulder and squeezed, giving Mac a tether to hold on to while he made up his mind. Maybe talking about it would make the drowning feeling go away. Maybe if he just voiced what he thought, the endless nights of self-doubt and, admittedly, self-hate would finally stop. He didn't want to feel like this anymore: empty, shattered, alone. Because even if he was always surrounded by people, since that night he had felt lonelier than he'd ever been, because now his last blood relative was dead and Mac was the last member of his own family.

He finally gulped and began to talk.

"I'm mad at myself" he whispered, because talking any louder meant his voice would break, and if he lost it now, he wouldn't be able to continue.

"Why on earth would you be mad at yourself Mac? None of what happened was your fault" Jack reassured.

"I know that" Mac confirmed and then continued. Jack could feel the blonde's muscles tightening even more when he gripped the edge of the wooden seat to steady his increasingly shaking form "I'm angry because despite everything he did, despite almost killing me, I... I still" he was starting to choke on his own words and he glanced up to look directly into Jack's eyes, looking for the strength to confess what he was about to say "I still love him" he finished and then gasped, fighting desperately to keep the tears inside of him. He didn't want to break down and cry, and he definitely shouldn't be wasting his tears on his father.

"Oh... Mac..." Jack wasn't exactly sure how to answer to that. Of all the ways Mac could've answered, he hadn't been expecting that one; although, now that he thought about it, it kind of made sense too. Mac thought his partner's silence meant something else than being simply at a loss for words, so he kept talking and, once he began to let it all out, he didn't stop until he emptied his deepest thoughts.

"Look, Jack, I meant everything I said at the hospital. I did, and you've been more like a father to me than he was in a very long time but... He..." he was getting frustrated and it was starting to show. Seeing how his partner had grown quiet again, Jack filled in the silence.

"Mac, of course you love him. No matter what he did, he was still your dad and that's not something you can detach yourself from" the younger man didn't offer any reply, instead resting his elbows on his knees and then his face on his hands "Mac?" Jack insisted, wanting to make sure his brother understood what he was saying, but he didn't get the answer he had been hoping for.

"I shouldn't love him" Mac stated, lifting his head from his hands and staring straight ahead with a cold stare.

"Mac" Jack sighed, giving the blonde's shoulder another gentle squeeze but having his hand shoved roughly away.

"No Jack!" Mac exclaimed, pressing his hand on his abdomen when his injury gave a painful pull after shaking Jack's hand off himself. Mac wasn't acting uninterested anymore and it was showing "Why should I love him? He abandoned me because I looked like my mom. Who does that?" he asked no one in particular.

"Maybe someone who's in a lot of pain" Jack conceded only to have the blond jump to his feet and turning around to face him.

"Don't defend him now!" he almost yelled and Jack chose to remain sitting and not rattle his partner even more into the argument he was obviously looking for.

"I'm not. I mean, I'm just saying-"

"He wanted to kill me!" Mac interrupted, giving his back to Jack and fisting a hand through his hair, almost forgetting his partner was there with him "My own father wanted to kill me" he said again, as if realizing it for the first time, a whole month after it had happened "My dad wanted to kill me" he repeated and the strangled sob that escaped him had Jack rushing to his feet and getting in front of him again. When Mac felt his presence, he locked eyes with him and asked the question that had been eating at him for the past month "How do I move on from this?" his eyes started to involuntarily fill with tears and the desperation behind them had Jack reaching forward to envelope him in a reassuring hug. Mac instinctively wrapped his arms around Jack's form and breathed in the scent of comfort and security that his partner had always provided, taking a deep breath to get himself under control again.

"With time buddy. You move on with time" Jack answered, running his hand through the back of Mac's head when the younger man buried his head deeper into his shoulder "And with the help of your friends. You're not alone buddy and as long as I'm around, you never will be" he assured.

"Why couldn't you be my dad?" came Mac's muffled voice and Jack's heart swelled with affection for the kid in that moment.

"We don't choose our fathers, remember?" he replied.

"If we could, I would've chosen you" Mac said, braking the hug to look at his partner, swallowing his embarrassment for displaying his emotions like that and holding his gaze to let him know he was deadly serious. Jack had to clear his throat before answering.

"And you would've made me the luckiest dad ever" he said, coping Mac's head with his hands "In fact, you already do"

Mac gave him a smile but it soon faded away when a strong pull from his stomach had him slightly doubling over and cursing in pain.

"Damn it" he hissed, bringing his hands to his stomach while Jack eased him back to a sitting position. After the episode passed, the partners were back in their original places, staring out at the city.

"I think you should get checked out by medical again man. This pain strikes are the farthest thing from healing" Jack said, hoping Mac would maintain his good patient behavior and just do as he said, for once. Maybe Mac's complain on the matter was a sign that he was getting back to normal.

Eventually they decided to give the wound another week before going back to get checked out.

"Thanks man" Mac suddenly blurted out.

"For what?" Jack asked, a smug grin on his face, which made Mac smile in return.

"You know what" he said.

"Oh, you mean bugging your ass enough to get you to tell me what goes on behind that big melon of yours because you prefer to suffer in silence before asking your awesome surrogate father for his long life wisdomy advice?" Jack half joked, only half. Mac sent a punch to his partner's arm, chuckling a little and rolling his eyes.

"Yeah" he finally conceded "for that"

 **THE END – FINITO – TERMINADO**

 **There you have it! The sequel to last chapter. I hope it was enough to satisfy and I would love to read your comments about it.**

 **Also, if you want, I'd appreciate some prompts or ideas for me to develop. I have a couple of hard days ahead of me, and I need my writing to get my mind off things.**

 **So… until next time?**


	19. Improvise and Adapt

**Welcome back everyone! I wanna thank everyone who reviewed last chapter and who favorited or followed this story. A special thanks to Lhaven for the idea of this chapter: I hope I did you proud!**

 **Summary: Mac's having a really bad day and luck just isn't on his side; and just when he's thinking about how he'd gotten up on the wrong side of the bed, they receive some shocking news that might be lifechanging for everyone, especially for Mac and Jack.**

 **Hope you like it!**

 **CHAPTER 19: Improvise and Adapt**

Mac squeezed his eyes shut against the onslaught of pain in his brain. He pinched the bridge of his nose and willed the headache away. But, who was he kidding? If nothing had worked since yesterday, nothing would probably work now. He just had to let time pass and do its thing.

Admittedly, going for a run at 6:00 in the morning while still sporting yesterday's headache wasn't one of his brightest ideas, but he didn't like to miss his morning runs, so he'd just sucked it up and gone out, sneakers and trainers at the ready, but had only managed about a couple of miles when his vision started to blur and he was forced to stop abruptly when all he could see was black. The dizzy spell and momentarily lack of sight only lasted a couple of seconds, but the sensation of being of being blind, even if just for three seconds, had him turning on his heels and starting to make his way back home, remembering the day he'd been totally blinded when the aftershock of an explosion had him slamming the back of his head against the asphalt. Those hours of complete blindness had been terrifying, so he could sacrifice one morning of exercises in order to get his headache under control.

He was almost half way back to the house when he had to stop again. He hadn't even been running and the dizzy spell hit him again, this time with a spike of pain so strong behind his eyes that he stumbled and had to hold onto the nearest lamp post.

When his vision started to blacken, he realized his blood pressure must've been going down and he glanced around, looking for any place where he could get something to eat and get some sugar into his system. Going for a run with a headache _and_ without breakfast had definitely not been his brightest moment.

He spotted a diner just ahead and, feeling strong enough to manage a few steps, he made his way inside and walked over to the counter. He reached inside his pocket for his phone, knowing he always carried a 10-dollar bill inside the case for emergencies.

The dizzying moment had passed when he entered the place, but he still needed to eat something before attempting to walk the rest of the way home. If Bozer or, God forbid, Jack, found out what he'd done, there would be hell to pay.

Mac walked closer to the line of first costumers of the day, thinking maybe a bagel would do the trick until he managed to get back home and get a proper breakfast, but when it was his turn to order, his stomach began to roll with the idea of food, so he settled with an orange juice that he pumped full of sugar. He paid for it and made his way to one of the empty tables.

He hadn't even taken a sip when the first shot went off.

The noise of the gun made him jump, startled by the unexpectedness of it in such a regular place like a diner, but it was the screams of the people around him that had him moaning in pain when his head threatened to explode right then.

"Everybody on the ground!" the man holding the gun ordered. He was wearing a black mask, so Mac couldn't see his face "Throw your phones and purses on the ground. Now!" _'Great'_ , Mac thought ' _I decided to get ill and walk into the only diner that gets robbed at 7 freaking am_ '.

He looked at his phone and hid it quickly under the menu at one side of the table, then followed everyone elses' lead and kneeled on the ground, with his hands over his head. He began to think that maybe, just maybe, he could neutralize the threat with no one getting hurt, it was only one man after all, but the sudden change in altitude, having dropped so quickly to the floor, had his vision swimming again, and the whole stressful situation made his head hurt and pound mercilessly. He'd never had a headache as strong as this one and he was starting to regret ever waking up that morning and getting out of bed. In the state he was in, there was no way he could on the robber and make sure everyone was alright.

The man holding the gun tossed a bag to one of the hostages on the floor and ordered her to gather everyone's belonging scattered in front of them. The woman, a business middle aged lady, shakily got to her feet and started doing as she was told.

"Hurry up lady, I don't have much time" the robber urged and Mac saw him glancing nervously out the windows. It was still early in the morning, but the city was already filled with people leaving their houses and going to work, children being driven or walked to school, so the gun shot the robber used to announce himself at the diner didn't give him much time before someone outside called the police.

Mac had eventually decided to keep his head down, brow furrowed in pain, while the robbery took place. As long as the man didn't hurt anybody, he could take whatever he wanted. Mac could even help the police track the man down later and recover everyone's things, but he, for the life of him, couldn't think straight enough to act now. The headache was killing him and since he hadn't had time to drink his orange juice, the dizziness and overall ill feeling he had was coming back full force. He was sweating profusely, his mouth was watering uncomfortably and his stomach was rolling. His vision was swimming in and out of focus and every once in a while the black screen would come back to disrupt his vision. Mac internally groaned.

When the lady picking up the stuff from the floor walked right past him, the robber turned sharply to him, seeing as there was nothing on the floor that belonged to him. With two quick strides, the man came to stand right in front of Mac.

"Where are your things?" he asked, pointing the gun at him. Mac's brain took longer than everyone else's to register he was being held at gunpoint. He was afraid to open his mouth and talk, not because of the weapon, but because he felt like he could hurl at any moment.

"I don't... I don't have anything" he said with a shaky voice, having to swallow his own bile and grimacing at the burn in his throat. At least his internal ordeal helped keep the illusion that he was as scared as everyone else.

"You must have something. Your wallet, a phone. Give them up!" the man yelled and Mac shrunk from the pain in his head at the increase in volume.

"I went out for a run this morning, I didn't bring anything with me" Mac supplied, hoping his explanation would be enough to appease the man. Apparently his luck today just wasn't on the right side.

"You're lying" the man spat, stepping closer to him and waving the gun dangerously near his face. Mac wanted nothing more than to punch this guy in the face, Jack Dalton style, but he knew he couldn't. Instead, he kept trying to calm the other man down.

"Listen man, why don't you just take everything else and go before anyone finds out you're here? No one needs to get hurt" while he had been talking, the woman with the bag kept collecting the items on the floor and once she was finished, she nervously stepped closer to the robber and handed him the bag.

"Tha-that's it" she stuttered. The man snatched the bag from her hands and yelled at her to get down on the floor again. When the woman took apparently too much time doing so, the robber pushed her and sent her crashing to the ground right next to Mac, who couldn't help himself.

"Hey! No need to get aggressive" it was the wrong thing to say, obviously, because without warning, the man whacked the butt of his gun against Mac's temple and the blond's world exploded with pain.

He ended up sprawled on the floor, clutching his head between hid hands and fighting to keep the contents of his stomach inside. He could feel the warm presence of blood emanating from the cut right above his eyebrow and the wound was pulsing in time with the beat of his heart. The people around him gasped, but made no move to help him until the robber left the place, which must have happened at some point because now Mac was surrounded by a couple, helping him remain sitting with his back against the counter and a dishtowel over his head. He had no recollection of getting in that position.

"... Okay? Sir?" the woman keeping the towel on his head was asking, but he only caught the end of the sentence. Assuming what she had been asking, he answered.

"... 'm fine" he slurred, hating how the sound of his own voice sent painful vibrations all the way up to his brain.

"The police are on their way here. They said an ambulance was coming too" the other man said. Mac wanted to shake his head, but thought better of it.

"Don't need it"

"Too late. They're here"

Mac looked up and saw a few cops making their way in through the doors, followed by a couple of paramedics that were immediately waved in towards him. One of them bent down and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hi, my name is Oliver, can you tell me yours?" he asked in a friendly tone.

"Name's Mac, and I'm fine. I just really should be heading back home" he answered back, trying unsuccessfully to get up from the ground. The moment he did, the world started spinning again.

"Maybe you should let us check you over before that" Oliver said, taking away the towel from his face and examining the wound. Good thing: it had stopped bleeding. Bad thing: it hadn't stop hurting. Mac wasn't as concerned for the injury as much as he was concerned about what had already been happening to him before the whole circus of five minutes ago, or was it an hour? His brain was starting to space out again, and he missed the moment the paramedic began his physical examination, coming back to the present when he felt the uncomfortable pressure around his bicep. When the beeping stopped, the paramedic hummed in thought and glanced up to look at Mac under a different light.

"Your blood pressure's pretty low and your oxygen stats not so great" Oliver stated, and Mac glanced down to realize he had an oximeter on his index finger as well "Do you feel any nausea? Dizziness? Disorientation?" Mac brought his free arm up and rested his head in his hand, his head getting heavy.

"Yes" he whispered "but I had it all before" he added. Contrary to what people believed, he did take his own health into consideration, not that he showed it frequently. He just hated appearing weak in front of everybody.

"What do you mean before?" Mac sighed. The man was making him talk a lot.

"I was running. I got dizzy. Had everything you just said. Came here to eat something and then all this happened" he surmised, hoping no more questions arose "I'm sure I just need to eat something and I'll feel better" the paramedic understood it was the most likely possibility, but he needed to be thorough.

"Does your head hurt now?" he asked. Mac grabbed a fistful of his hair; this wasn't going to end that easily. He just wanted to go home. He also couldn't lie.

"Yes"

"Was it hurting before?" Mac looked at him, as if pleading for the interrogation to stop. He knew what would happen if he gave the answer to that question. Getting a mild concussion during a robbery wasn't something that warranted a trip to the hospital. Getting one when you're already dizzy and in pain? ...

"Yes" he whispered and sighed when the other man fished a light from his medical equipment.

"Okay, listen, I'm gonna shine a little light into your eyes to make sure your pupils-"

"I know how it works" Mac grumbled. He hadn't meant to be rude, but he wasn't up for long explanations about things he already knew how they worked.

"Alright. Look straight ahead" Oliver said.

Mac had to flinch away when the light was directly shone into his eyes. His brain was attacked by massive spikes of pain and his eyes watered reflexively. When the paramedic turned the flashlight off, Mac's vision was blurry and it was starting to blacken again. His heart did a summersault when all he could see for a few seconds was black, and he blinked furiously trying to shake the sensation away. Noticing his distress, the paramedic put a hand on his shoulder.

"Mac? Mac? What's going on?" whatever was happening right now, he could tell the young man wasn't focusing on him, even though he was looking straight ahead. Mac cleared his throat.

"I... I can't see. I see it all black. Wait... It's passing. It's gone" Mac explained, now able to focus his eyes again and he looked up at the paramedic.

"Mac, I can't asses what's going on with what I have here" Oliver explained, motioning towards his equipment "We're gonna take you to the hospital because that loss of sight combined with those readings isn't exactly normal after a concussion. Specially if you had them before" just the mention of the hospital was enough to bring Mac's nausea back to the surface. He didn't want to go, but he didn't feel strong enough to put on an argument right now so he just nodded slightly. Oliver helped him get back to his feet and steadied him while he swayed. His vision blackened again for a few seconds. Right when they were about to walk through the door, he remembered.

"Wait!" he exclaimed "I need to call someone. I need my phone"

"I thought you guys got robbed" Oliver said, confused, thinking maybe his patient was showing signs of memory compromise.

"Yeeeaah" Mac dragged the word "not my phone though. It's under a menu over by that table" he signaled the place and the other paramedic went to get it. Mac just ignored the look a few of the costumers gave him.

Once outside, they made their way slowly to the back of the ambulance, Mac having to hold into Oliver even more with every step they took. His body was shaking and his legs felt like lead. What the hell was wrong with him? He wasn't injured and he hadn't been sick. Why was he feeling like this?

Oddly enough, he didn't protest having to lay down on the gurney, because laying down brought the headache down a notch or two, so he sighed in relief and brought a hand up to massage his forehead.

"Can you tell me what time is it?" he asked.

"Almost eight" ' _damn_ ' Mac thought. He was supposed to be on his way to work now. He picked up his phone and, sure enough, there were a few missed calls from Bozer, who must have been waiting for him to come back from running to get to the office. Since there were no calls from Jack, he assumed Bozer hadn't said anything to the older man yet. He had to adjust the brightness of the screen and turn it down to the lowest, or else his eyes would just water and his headache would spike up. He dialed Bozer's phone.

"Mac! You're late man! Like, way late. Where are you?" his friend's voice wasn't worried, just his normal hyperactive self.

"Hi Boze... Emmm, I might have to call in sick today so you can go ahead into work without me"

"Call in sick? Since when do you call in sick? Is everything alright? Are you in danger? Can you talk? Are you being kidnapped? Answer yes or no" Bozer's rapid questions had him momentarily distracted.

"Yes... I- I mean NO! I'm fine Boze. Jeez. Anyone told you, you watch too many movies?"

"Then what's going on?"

"I was getting something to eat and there might have been a robbery at the diner. There also might be a mild concussion involved" Bozer huffed.

"Only you Mac. Only you. Does Jack know? I can tell the boss lady when I get to work" he offered.

"That's great man. I'll call Jack in a minute"

"Gotcha. Keep me posted"

"Bye Boze"

Mac hung up the phone and let his arm rest above his chest. Now that he had been laying down for a few minutes, he was starting to feel better and regret his decision of being so compliant about a hospital trip. If he had gone back home, he wouldn't have to miss work and if he had felt any worse, he could have just gone to medical and save everyone here the trouble. Going to the hospital for a headache? What a softy.

When the doors of the ambulance opened, he realized he had fallen asleep and missed half the trip. Now, being wheeled to the emergency room, he realized he had no time for a long call with Jack, so he just sent a text.

 _Hey Big Guy. I'm fine. Don't panic._

 _Just arrived at the hospital. Mild concussion._

 _Mind coming over? Call Bozer_

By the time he finished writing and sending the message, he had been already placed on one of the triage rooms and a doctor was making his way towards him. His phone buzzed instantly with a reply.

 _On my way_

' _Huh. No emojis'_ Mac thought.

Mac spent the next twenty minutes explaining to the doctor exactly what it was that he felt earlier when he had gone for a run. All through his explanation, the doctor listened intently and made lots of questions, also performing various tests on his eyes and overall reflexes.

"Is there anyone here with you?" the doctor asked, sending alarm bells ringing on Mac's brain.

"No, but someone's on his way. Why?"

"The symptoms you're describing are a cause of concern and we'll admit you to run a preliminary test, a CT scan, so we can disregard certain pathologies associated with them" the doctor explained. Mac's heart rate increased at the word pathology and he started fidgeting in the gurney.

"What are you talking about? What pathologies?"

"That's what we will determine with the test. You'll have to wait here for a few hours before we can squeeze you in. In the meantime, you can have only one companion in this area" before Mac could even finish processing what he'd just been told, the doctor was out of the room and he found himself alone, swaying on the gurney where he had sat during the examination and gripping its edges hard enough to turn his knuckles white. His heart was beating faster and faster and he was getting dizzy all over again.

When his phone buzzed again, he shakily picked it up and read Jack's text asking where he was. He answered back and five minutes later, his partner was walking through the door.

"Hey man. You okay? What happened?" Jack asked clapping Mac's shoulder.

"I'm not sure what happened. One second I was fine, running over my third mile or something and then I get all dizzy. I had a headache, so I just thought I needed something to eat" the younger man started explaining.

"Woah, woah. Back up, you went running with a headache?" Jack asked, to which Mac just rolled his eyes.

"It's not that big of a deal Jack. Anyway, I went into the diner, the diner got robbed, the robber got angry and he hit me with the gun" he finished, signaling the cut above his head. It wasn't even big enough to require stitches.

"Well, that's hardly a graze. What's with all the fuss?" even Jack had to admit that Mac's injury didn't necessarily require a hospital trip. The fact that Mac hadn't put up a fight against the paramedics and he was actually _here_ , made Jack suspicious though "What are you not telling me?" he asked. Mac looked briefly into the older man's eyes and then looked away. He wasn't sure how to explain what had happened or what the doctor had said. For all the smart that he was, today he just wasn't acting like it.

Looking at his young partner now, Jack felt transported back to the time Mac was new on his Delta team and he had been hiding the fact JT had been using him as a punching bag for months. Normally the kid was difficult to talk to, let alone make him admit to being hurt, but the look he had on his face now was the same he'd had then. During that time, he'd been afraid of being kicked out of the team. What was he afraid of now?

Jack stepped closer to him and squeezed his shoulder, demanding his attention.

"Mac, what's going on?" Mac looked up, chewing on his bottom lip and driving his thumb roughly into the palm of his other hand. Jack could see the fear in those baby blue eyes.

"They say my symptoms are a cause of concern. They want to do some tests to discard some pathologies. The doctor didn't say more" Jack was silent for a moment.

"Pathology? As in…"

"An illness, a disease, an affliction, ailment, ailing, disorder, disability-"

"Okay, okay. I get it" Jack ran a hand up and down his face "They must be wrong. Everyone gets dizzy from time to time. Everyone gets headaches. I'm sure it's nothing" Mac looked up at him guiltily and Jack sighed, closing his eyes for a moment "How long have you been feeling like this? Mac?" he prompted when he blond offered no response.

"I don't know. I hadn't given it much thought until now"

"How long!?" Jack asked, and Mac was taken aback by the harsh tone. His heart rate increased for a whole new reason now.

"A couple of weeks" he answered in a slow voice "But the bad headache I only got since yesterday" he tried to defend himself.

"Why the hell didn't you say anything Mac?" Jack asked, throwing his hands in the air and starting to pace in front of him. For all intents and purposes, Mac felt like a five-year-old being lectured. He also felt the need to defend his actions.

"I didn't feel that bad Jack. Besides, last week we were in Guatemala and the week before that we went to Africa. There wasn't exactly much time to be feeling ill between missions" Jack decided to let it slide. The kid had a point after all.

"What else did the doctor say?" he asked instead.

"Not much. I guess he'll tell us after the CT Scan"

"A CT Scan?" Jack asked concerned "How bad do they think this is?" and now he was the one who couldn't hide the fear in his voice.

"I don't know Jack"

"Alright, what does your brain tell you this could be? You know a lot of stuff"

"I don't know Jack!" Mac said, and the partners stared at each other before Mac dropped his head "I don't know. I got a C in biology remember?" he said in a softer tone.

"Hey, listen" Jack started, coming closer to him and putting both hands on Mac's shoulders "I'm sure they're being overly cautious. It's their job. Let's not freak out here. Yes, I'm talking about me too. Let's wait for the results of the CT Scan and then we're taking you back to Phoenix. Whatever this is, _if_ it is actually something, you'll be better taken care of there. Agreed?"

Mac nodded and then remained quiet during the rest of the time. They waited about an hour more before a nurse came to fetch Mac and take him to get his CT Scan. They made him change into one of those dreaded hospital gowns and then they wheeled him away.

While he waited, Jack took out his phone and called Matty, letting her know what was going on.

"I can arrange for transport right away and have the hospital send us the test result. I want blondie admitted into medical here" she said.

"Copy that" Jack responded, not sure he trusted his voice to say anything else.

"Jack?" Matty asked before hanging up "We'll take care of him" she assured him, and he nodded even though she couldn't see him. The idea of Mac being ill, like permanently ill, made him shudder and bring back nightmares of losing the kid against an enemy, only this kind of enemy, Jack couldn't fight.

The moment Mac was wheeled back into the room, they were escorted to an unmarked ambulance that would take them back to Phoenix and even Mac had to admit that he felt better knowing they'd be heading towards The Foundation. It almost felt like going home, given the circumstances.

His headache had been kept at a manageable level, as long as he was laying down, and his vitals were being constantly monitored. As soon as they arrived at Phoenix though, Mac's momentarily feeling of security was crashed down when the needles started to make an appearance. Blood was drawn and a whole other bunch of tests done. At least now he got to wait on a fairly decent bed in a room of his own.

"This is so stupid!" he complained "I could be waiting at home for all they're doing now"

Almost the whole day had gone by, and it had been several hours since the latest test or examination. He was feeling better after some painkillers for his head and medicine for the nausea. He had even managed to eat. Now he was just bored as hell.

"You could fall asleep" Jack suggested, not taking his eyes off the game he was currently playing on his phone. Mac huffed.

"It's barely past eight"

"Jeez, you're worse than a child sometimes Mac" Riley said from her spot at the end of the bed. She and Bozer had come down to medical after their shift was over and they had hung around, keeping Mac and Jack some company and trying to keep Mac entertained for more than five minutes straight. It was a difficult task, even if they'd stolen the bowl of paperclips from the war room.

Mac opened his mouth to say something back when the door to his room opened and the Phoenix doctor stepped inside.

"Good evening everyone. If you don't mind, I would like to speak to my patient alone, so if you could…" it wasn't exactly a suggestion.

"We'll wait outside" Bozer said, sending a nod towards Mac and leaving the room. Riley following close behind. Jack made no move to get out, while Mac adjusted the bed so he was sitting up.

"Agent Dalton-"

"I'm not going anywhere Doc. You know how this works" Jack said, gesturing between him and Mac. The younger man just shrugged.

"Alright. The test results have finally come back on the CT Scan and your blood analysis. The doctor that examined you back at the hospital was right, your symptoms are to be considered with care. Your blood test came back normal, but the CT Scan does show something that shouldn't be there" hearing those words, Mac's face went pale and he ran a hand through his hair. He couldn't find his voice to ask; fortunately, Jack did it for him.

"What kind of something?" his voice was serious, as was his expression.

"We don't know yet. A CT Scan isn't the best technique to identify some of the structures of the brain. What we're seeing in the image might just be the result of that. We need to perform a more thorough examination of the brain to be able to give you a final diagnosis. There's an MRI programmed for tomorrow morning. Until then, we can't know more" the doctor finished. Finally Mac found his voice.

"So, what you're saying is I might have a tumor?" he asked, his throat tight. Jack's head jerked up at that.

"What? Who said anything about a tumor?" he turned to the doctor "You didn't say anything about a tumor?" it was Mac who answered though, having to pinch the bridge of his nose to ward off the headache that was making a reappearance.

"Anything that isn't supposed to be somewhere in the body is considered a tumor Jack"

"That's right" the doctor agreed with his explanation.

"Can I go home now?" Mac suddenly blurted out, making both Jack and the doctor gape at him.

"Did you just not hear what the doc said?" Jack asked incredulous. Mac glared at him.

"Yes, I did. I also heard the MRI will be done in the morning. I can go home now and come back tomorrow to get it done" he answered dryly.

"Mac, I would feel more comfortable if you stayed overnight for observation. We want to monitor any episode you may have during the night like the ones you had this morning" the doctor offered.

"And I would feel more comfortable if I went home now" Mac spat, making it clear he didn't want to follow the doctor's advice. Picking up on his friend's harsh tone, Jack took immediate charge of the situation.

"We're staying" he decided and then silenced Mac before he could protest "Zip it. You're gonna stay and do as the doctor says. That's an order" that tone of voice and the expression on his face made Mac shut up and sigh dramatically, sending a scowl towards his partner.

"Excellent" the doctor said and after doing another quick physical examination, he left the room, closing the door behind him.

They both remained silent after that for a few minutes, Mac fidgeting with the blanket over his legs and Jack taking in the sight of his friend. After a couple more seconds of tense silence, Jack spoke up.

"You can be angry all you like. I'm gonna go update Riley and Bozer. I'm pretty sure Matty knew what the doctor was going to say before he came in here though" he was about to leave the room when Mac answered back.

"I don't want them to come back in" Mac stated, not looking up from his fidgeting hands. Jack sighed.

"Alright. I'll tell them you're gonna sleep. What about me? Do you want me to take a hike too?" Mac looked up after that comment and Jack had time to think that maybe he'd been a little rude with it when the kid's eyes flashed with hurt. But the feeling was quickly masked by anger.

"Do whatever you want" he said, and Jack closed the door behind him, shaking his head.

Explaining what was going on to Riley and Bozer wasn't any easier than dealing with a scared Mac, because Jack knew his partner more than anyone in the world and he knew the kid used anger to disguise fear. Bozer's eyes grew big as sausages and Riley's filled with tears.

"Mac has a tumor?" Bozer asked, perplexed, not being able to believe what he was hearing.

"Might have, Boze, might have" Jack corrected although the difference wasn't much encouraging either.

"What's gonna happen now?" asked Riley, holding the tears at bay. She couldn't imagine their friend going through something like chemo or a brain surgery.

"We don't know. We still need the confirmation of the diagnosis and that'll come tomorrow with the MRI. It could still be something else, it doesn't have to be a tumor. It doesn't-" Jack's voice caught at the end of the sentence and he had to clear his throat. He was trying to keep up a strong façade for his friends' sake, but the truth was, he was terrified of what could happen if the tumor was confirmed. He couldn't imagine Mac going through something like that.

Bozer came closer and put a hand on his shoulder while Riley gave him a hug.

"He has to be alright Jack. He's Mac" she said.

"Yeah" he agreed and then told them Mac wasn't feeling up to any visitors now. They said they weren't going anywhere though, that they would crash on one of Phoenix's rooms so they could be around if anything were to happen. After another round of hugs, they went to find Matty and arrange their overnight stay.

Jack went back to Mac's room but hesitated before going back in. His partner had made it clear he wanted to be alone, but Jack would be damned if he betrayed his friend's trust by not staying with him through something like this. He'd made a promise never to leave him long ago, he wasn't going to break it now.

Hardening his resolve, he took a deep breath and opened the door.

The light was turned off and he could see Mac's figure curled on the bed, knees tucked towards his chest. He had his back towards the door and his face towards the chair Jack would be occupying that night. Jack knew there was no way he was asleep, but he would let the kid have his privacy if that's what he wanted.

He made his way to the chair silently and sat down studying his friend for a few minutes before taking out his phone and trying to distract himself through the night. Why he ended up adding to his anxiety by researching brain tumor on google, he had no clue.

Not even fifteen minutes later, he heard Mac shifting around on the bed and a hand suddenly reached out to rest on Jack's shoulder, gripping his shirt in a tight fist. Mac remained silent though. Jack couldn't help the slight curve of a smile from making an appearance. He knew Mac wasn't mad at him. He put his phone away and brought his chair closer to the bed, putting his own arm on top of Mac's and whispering encouraging words to help his friend fight through the fear.

"I'm with you brother. You're not alone" Mac sniffled, and that was the only answer Jack got that night.

To say it was the longest night ever was quite the understatement. None of them managed much sleep and they were both wide awake by the time the staff at medical changed shifts. A nurse brought Mac breakfast, but he didn't even touch it. Jack didn't insist either. After that, he was taken to get the MRI.

"Hey" Jack had said right before Mac was wheeled away "You're gonna be okay"

Mac didn't answer. He hadn't said a word since the day before.

Jack was anxious. Pacing back and forth inside Mac's room. Riley and Bozer showed up with breakfast but he also couldn't bring himself to eat. He downed the coffee in three long sips though. God knew he needed to be alert.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

Mac would have liked to think that he was handling things just fine. That he wasn't freaked out of his mind, or that he didn't want to just curl up and cry. He'd had MRIs before, once for his knee and once for his back. Never for his brain though. What would happen to him if they did find a tumor? Would it be operable? Would he have to submit to chemotherapy? Either way he knew his life would be ruined. He would no longer be allowed to be a Phoenix agent and his life would be spent almost entirely in a hospital. He would never get married or have kids, have his own family. His friends would eventually move on with their lives and he would end up alone, forgotten.

Ugh! Didn't this people know that having him lay unmoving inside a tube gave him too much time to think?

What the nurse had called only 20 minutes lasted an eternity for Mac and by the time the MRI machine stopped and he was taken out of the confined space, his headache was skyrocketing to the moon. He didn't want to think the pain had anything to do with what might or might not be growing on his brain, so he settled for believing it was due to the constant worry and fear of what the result of this test could mean.

While he was being wheeled back to his room, he found himself dreading having to face Jack again. Mac knew he'd been a world class jerk the night before and he owed the man an apology. When he remembered the way his partner had just silently crept back into the room just to be with him, giving him silent support and then helping him through his slight breakdown, Mac felt a wave of shame and gratitude at the same time. He wasn't alone and Jack wasn't going to let him forget that.

Speaking of whom, he was surprised to find that his partner actually wasn't in the room waiting for him. Instead, he was left alone to keep spinning the wheel of ideas in his brain for the rest of the morning. Neither Riley nor Bozer showed up either and Mac's feeling of guilt multiplied by ten, knowing he'd been the one to push them away last night. They probably didn't want to upset him thinking he'd rather be alone. Well, that had been last night. Now, though, he felt restless and impatient, glancing towards the door every time he heard footsteps outside, wishing anyone of his friends would show up and help ease his anxiety by simply being there. And where was Jack? Mac honestly hadn't pictured the older man leaving the room at any cost, so where was he?

As it turned out, Jack had decided to hit the gym.

The orderly that had taken Mac away said the test would take about half an hour, and although Jack had originally intended to stay in the room waiting for his friend to come back, he had started feeling nervous and like the walls were closing in on him. So he thought waiting in the gym wouldn't hurt anybody. Also, punching the sand out of a punching bag didn't sound like a bad idea after all the stress this situation was causing him.

After downing the coffee Riley and Bozer had been so kind to give him, he had excused himself without telling them where he was going. He needed some time alone to decompress and then be able to keep being strong for Mac. He could tell the kid wasn't handling things very well. He was moody and anxious, constantly wiping the sweat out of his hands with the blankets of his bed and fidgeting with the bowl of paperclips without actually making anything special; he was just kind of picking them apart and tossing them aside.

Also, and he never thought he'd ever say something like this, Mac was having difficulty keeping track of things around him. Not that the kid had been much of a talker since the day before, but Jack could tell Mac felt sometimes surprised at how the time went by, or when Jack had been standing on one side of the room and walked to the other to stretch his legs, Mac would be surprised to find he changed positions, as if he had spaced out for a few minutes. Normally Mac was really good at keeping his impassive masks on, the ones that read 'I'm fine' all over them, but Jack had gotten pretty good too over the years in seeing through the cracks of those masks. Not that Mac was making much of an effort to hide how rattled he was; the guy was wearing his fear on the sleeve (Jack was also pretty sure the reference didn't go quite like that, oh whatever!), at least to Jack he was, and it was breaking the older man's heart. Hence the need to take a breath and maybe a few good hits to the punching bag too.

He had planned to work out the stress for maybe 15 minutes, 20 minutes top, but he hadn't taken into consideration the panic attack he suffered half way through though.

He had been pounding the bag mercilessly, which is why he'd expected his breathing to be agitated; what he hadn't expected was to be unable to breathe after only five or seven minutes working out. Seeing as he wasn't alone in the gym, he'd made a desperate retreat and ended up in an outside staircase sitting with his head between his knees.

He felt nauseated and he was sweating a lot. His hands were shaking and his breathing was getting so worked up he could feel his throat tightening, making it even harder for the oxygen to go through to his lungs. All in all he was having a full blown panic attack, and he hugged his legs, pressing his head harder against his knees.

How could this be happening? How could he protect his boy from something he couldn't even see? This helplessness reminded Jack of how he'd felt when his father had died, and he couldn't help the sob that escaped him then. He couldn't lose Mac too, he couldn't!

Suddenly, a pair of slender but firm arms wrapped around him, enveloping him in a strong hug and rubbing circles in his upper arm. Jack knew who it was, and he knew that somewhere deep inside he should've felt ashamed at the fact that someone he loved like a daughter was the one holding into him while he cried like a baby, but right now he couldn't bring himself to care, so he pressed closer to her.

"Mac's already back in his room Jack" she said as a way of starting a the conversation once she thought the older man had calmed down enough to at least talk back. Jack nodded and pulled out of his own cocoon, sniffling and wiping at his eyes and nose, but keeping his head down, not able to look directly at Riley yet because he knew his eyes still showed the remnants of his meltdown.

"How did you find me?" he asked, his voice hoarse, so he cleared it. Riley arched her eyebrows skeptically.

"Really? I've tracked you guys down to the middle of the Brazilian jungle from an aircraft thousands of miles above the ground and you thought no one would find you here? I just followed you on the security cameras" she explained. That made a small smile appear on Jack's face, but it was quickly wiped away by Riley's next words "When Mac was brought back and you didn't show up after two hours, I just started looking" Riley had to jump back when Jack suddenly sprung to his feet.

"Two hours!? What do you mean two hours?" he asked alarmed. Riley looked at him with concern.

"Jack, it's almost midday. Mac came back from the MRI hours ago"

"Wha…" Jack was speechless. When had all those hours gone by? He knew he hadn't been in the gym that long, which means he had spent all that time out here. ' _Well, that was some panic attack'_ he thought bitterly, already making his way up the stairs "Why didn't you come find me sooner?" he hadn't meant to sound annoying, he was actually immensely grateful with her for bringing him out of the panic attack.

"We all though you needed your space too. It's not like you're looking too peachy over there" Riley defended.

They reached the entry and found themselves back inside the building. Before heading towards medical though, Jack stopped and turned back to Riley, his voice not as steady as he would've liked.

"So how is he?" when Riley looked down with a guilty expression on her face, Jack's heartrate picked up again "Riley?"

"We don't know. We haven't seen him. We… we kind of got the hint yesterday that he didn't want to see us. And we get it, we totally do. We just didn't want to add to his worries by being with him if he didn't want us" she said, waiting for him to blow up on her for leaving Mac alone. He didn't though.

"Oh man… I'm so screwed" Jack stated, running a hand up and down his face and resuming his walk towards medical. He knew leaving Mac alone wasn't Bozer or Riley's fault, it was entirely his. It was his responsibility to look after the kid and he'd made a promise he wasn't able to keep.

When they got to their destination, Jack hesitated in front of the door and then turned to give Riley an unexpected hug.

"Thanks kiddo" he said simply.

"Let us know how he's doing. Take care of him. We'll be right here" she assured him and then he went in.

Jack almost gasped out loud when he didn't see Mac on the bed. His worried mind already working on the hundreds of dreadful explanations for an empty bed in a hospital bay. But as soon as he walked completely inside, he spotted his partner standing by the window with his arms crossed over his chest looking at the beautiful scenario of Phoenix's remote location. Jack could see that Mac had changed into a pair of comfortable sweat pants and a t-shirt. No hospital gown, that was always good on Jack's book.

Not wanting to startle the younger man, Jack cleared his throat and closed the door audibly before walking to stand right next to Mac, who didn't look away from whatever had gathered his attention outside.

"Hey man" Jack said, not sure how to begin to apologize for leaving him alone for so long "How did the test go? Any news?"

"Not yet. Doctor should be by this afternoon. He-" but he trailed off when he finally looked away from the window and saw his partner's eyes, swollen and red rimmed. Mac frowned "Are you okay?" he asked. Jack cleared his throat again.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry 'bout it. You were saying?" Jack tried to shrug it off.

"You've been crying" Mac said, not asked. Jack wiped at his eyes as if he could erase the evidence with that one gesture.

"Nothing to worry about, really" the older man stated, wanting to bring the conversation around and start apologizing for disappearing like that "Listen man, I'm sorry I wasn't here when… hey, hey, what's going on?" Jack asked suddenly, putting a hand on Mac's shoulder and gaping at the tears pooling on the younger man's blue eyes. Mac looked down for a minute and then glanced up.

"I'm sorry I've been such a dick. I should've realized how hard this is all for you too" Jack definitely had not been expecting that. He was left trying to figure out a way to answer back, to assure Mac he'd done nothing wrong in his eyes, but the kid didn't give him a chance "I'm sorry…" he repeated, wiping at the unshed tears in his eyes and turning to head back to the bed. He hadn't even taken two steps when his vision dimmed and he had to double over, unable to see and losing his balance enough to fall to the ground "Jack!" he managed a strangled cry and his partner was beside him in an instant, preventing his head from hitting the floor.

"Easy, easy" Jack cupped Mac's head in his hands and prompted his partner to focus on him. After a few seconds, Mac's vision came back and he was greeted with the sight of a deep frown and a concerned look "You okay there?" Jack asked, maintaining his grip on the younger man's head because he seemed unable to hold its weight on his own.

"Hmmm" he wasn't able to hold his head up any longer, even with Jack's help, so he let it fall and rest on the other man's shoulder. Jack's fear reached uncharted levels when Mac's body went limp, even though he was still conscious.

"Mac? Mac!" nothing more than mumbling reached his ears, and Jack decided it was time to call for help.

He yelled and shouted until someone came into the room. A nurse helped him pick Mac up from the floor and put him back on the bed, where a team of nurses and the Phoenix doctor in charge of Mac's case were already working on him, measuring his vitals and trying to bring him back from the state of semi consciousness he was currently in.

Jack was standing at the foot of the bed, his hands on his hips, watching everything go by and feeling very small surrounded by people actually able to help his partner. Someone injected something into Mac's arm and through a series of other methods, Mac started to come around. He was still a little disoriented though, and waking up to a bunch of faces hovering on top of him wasn't helping him any. The moment he started to shift on the bed, trying to sit up and get away, Jack stepped forward, walking to the side of the bed and leaning in, clasping his partner's hand and putting a hand on his chest to keep him from rising.

"Hey, calm down. You're alright kiddo. You're alright" he said softly, trying to transmit some sense of tranquility to his friend.

"Jack? Wh-what happened?" his eyes kept darting around the room, still a little glassy.

"You almost gave me a heart attack, that's what happened!" Jack said, hoping some humor would bring his partner back to the land of the living. Mac closed his eyes when another wave of dizziness hit him and he didn't open them again, although he did answer back.

"Sorry... 'm sorry… Sorry Jack" Jack felt Mac squeeze his hand and he squeezed back, glancing up at the doctor and asking what was happening to his friend. Mac's speech was slurred and he didn't sound like he was quite back yet.

"Mac just had an episode like the one he had yesterday morning. We've just given him something to fight off the dizziness but we can't treat him with anything else until we know for sure what's causing these episodes" the doctor explained.

"But you did the MRI hours ago! Shouldn't you know what's going on with him by now?" as if picking up on Jack's worried tone, Mac turned his head towards his voice, even though he still had his eyes closed. Jack glanced down momentarily back at him, frowning because he could still hear Mac muttering apologies that made no sense to him.

"We're still studying the images, but I'll come back this afternoon, when he's more alert and we'll discuss the results"

"But-"

"Jack" the doctor interrupted him, having known the man for a few years now and knowing how much the younger agent meant to him. Their relationship was legendary on Phoenix by now "Focus on grounding him for now. Keep him alert while the medication works and I promise I'll be back and we'll go over the results together. Alright?" Jack sighed and closed his eyes for a second before opening again with determination and nodding his agreement.

Keep Mac focused. He could work with that. Easy, right? ' _Yeah, like taking candy from a baby_ '

They were left alone in the room, and by the time the last nurse closed the door, Mac had opened his eyes again.

"There you are!" Jack said with a smile on his face. If he wanted to make Mac focus, he had to get him talking "How ya feeling bud?" Mac tried again to get into a sitting position before answering, but he gave it up after Jack pushed him gently back down.

Jack had to repeat his question when Mac seemed like he'd forgotten what he'd been asked.

"Like I wanna get outta here" he finally answered, this time managing to sound decently focused on what he was saying. Jack smiled at his statement.

"I bet. But no can do for now" Mac huffed and stared at the ceiling. His pupils were still a bit wide, but his eyes had gradually lost that glassy look on them. Jack thought this might be as good a time as any to resume his earlier try at apologizing "Mac?"

"Yeah?" he made sure to have Mac's undivided attention (as much as the younger man could concentrate now anyway) before continuing.

"I'm sorry about before. I didn't mean to leave you alone for so long. I kinda needed a few minutes and lost track of time" to his surprise, Mac actually smiled.

"Don't worry. It was my fault anyway"

"How you figure?" Jack asked, genuine curiosity and concern in his question. How Mac always managed to think he was guilty of things never ceased to amaze him.

"I... I practically told Ri and Boze I didn't want to see them and I... You..." Mac huffed in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose. Jack frowned.

"Head hurting?" he asked.

"No" Mac denied at first "Yes... I don't... I don't know. It does but then it doesn't and by the time I realize it's hurting, it's gone. But it's never gone and it hurts... Hurts a lot" Jack stared at his friend, not quite sure he had understood what had just been said. Mac definitely seemed more alert, but he still wasn't back to his 100% capacity.

"Ooooookay... So, it hurts" the older man surmised and Mac nodded, changing the subject abruptly and bringing it back to their conversation with his next statement.

"I didn't want to be alone" that sentence cut through Jack's gut like a knife.

"I know buddy, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left when you went to get the MRI. I don't really have an excuse. I screwed up and I'm sorry" Jack said, hoping he could somehow make it up to him now. When Mac shook his head, those hopes went crashing down.

"No" Mac replied, swallowing down "I mean last night. I didn't actually want to be alone and you came back, so thanks for... For always knowing when to stay" he finished, looking directly into Jack's eyes, which were suspiciously red again.

"I'll always stay kid. You know that" Mac smiled and returned his gaze to the ceiling.

"What are we gonna do Jack?" Mac asked, starting to fidget with his hands nervously again. Jack reached to the bedside table and took a paperclip out of the bowl, placing it in the kid's hands and watching with a smile how he immediately began working on it, pleased to see him bending the thing to create something and not just straightening it out. He was definitely getting his focus back.

" _We_ " he said, making emphasis on that word "are gonna do what we always do: improvise and adapt. It's what we're good at, right?" Mac had to give him a genuine smile at that.

"Improvise and adapt" he repeated and felt oddly comforted by those two simple words.

"Improvise and adapt, brother" Jack said again, offering his fist so Mac could bump it. He did.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

Just as he'd promised, the doctor came back around three to discuss what they'd found on the MRI.

Mac felt well enough to be sitting up with his legs crossed, since he'd been building a scale model of the Taj Mahal with paperclips that required most of the bed's space. When the doctor walked in though, he found he couldn't keep his hands from shaking long enough to bend another paperclip. At the sight of the doctor, Jack stood up from the chair and stood close to the blond.

"So?" Jack asked "What does it show?" referring to the images of Mac's brain.

"Well, the MRI does show something" at those words, Mac's stomach threatened to rebel and he had to clutch it with both arms to keep the panic from making it happen "however it's not a tumor" the doctor said, almost as if he'd rehearsed how to give the news in the most intriguing way possible.

Mac let out a strangled sob, not even caring that he had witnesses around, and he brought his hands up to press the hill of his hands against his eyes. He put his elbows on his knees and then barely registered what was being said.

When Jack heard the doctor say that there was no tumor, he wasn't sure if he wanted to cry or shout out in joy. But he did none of those things as he saw Mac barely able to keep it together, so he placed a hand at the back of Mac's neck and kept a strong hold, giving the kid something to hold on to.

"So..." he did have to clear his throat though "What is it?"

"A bruise" the doctor answered. Jack arched his eyebrows.

"A what now?" his voice was incredulous, which made the doctor smirk understandingly.

"I know" he said "It turns out Mac's last concussion didn't heal properly, or it was worse than we all thought. Couple that with the fact that he may have not taken his medication exactly as prescribed or for as long as he should have, plus yesterday's hit to the head, and you get the symptoms he described from before the robbery at the diner and specially after. I know this may sound odd, but it was all a simple scare" the man finished.

"A simple scare? Doc, this has probably been the scariest thing we've ever had to deal with" Jack said, letting out a stress filled laugh "He's gonna be okay though, right?"

"Yes. The headaches may last for about five more days, and he needs to rest so the bruise can heal properly. He also needs to follow the treatment all the way to the end, that means taking the medication at the right times, even if there's no pain or dizziness"

"Don't worry Doc, I'll make sure this stubborn hardhead over here follows your instructions" the doctor smiled.

"That'd be good, yeah" then he addressed his patient "Hey, Mac?" the blond didn't answer, but he did look up, uncovering his eyes. There was a deep frown on his face "I'm sorry you had to go through all of this, but you'll be okay. We'll get you started on the medication here, but you'll be able to go home tonight" Mac just nodded, but the doctor was satisfied with the answer, making his way out of the room because he could practically feel the partners need to be alone now.

The moment the door was closed, Jack turned his undivided attention back to Mac, who had now fisted his hair in one hand and was clutching at his stomach with the other. All Jack wanted to do was envelope the younger man in a hug and squeeze the fear of what might have been out of him, but he needed to deal with what he could see was going to happen next. Jack ran into the bathroom and took the trashcan, placing it in front of his friend and watching as Mac started to dry heave. He didn't actually throw up anything, he merely spit a couple of times, but that didn't mean the heaves were any less uncomfortable. When it seemed like he was done, Jack set the trashcan aside and offered him a cup of fresh water that Mac took gladly. His hands were shaking when he placed the empty cup back on the table.

"Mac" Jack called, placing his hand on the kid's shoulder "Hey, look at me, come on" when Mac lifted his eyes to gaze up at Jack, the older man cupped his cheek "You're okay. You're gonna be just fine. There's nothing wrong with your brain and the doctor said you'll be okay" he also used every sentence to reassure himself.

"I heard him" Mac whispered. Jack smiled.

"You're gonna be okay. You're gonna-" but his voice finally broke and he couldn't keep it together any longer, so Jack catapulted into Mac and the partners embraced, laughing like maniacs and crying out of relief.

"You better follow the dammed doc instructions literally or so help me God..." Jack threatened, knowing Mac had been scared enough to do as he was told for once.

"I was thinking I could ask Matty for some time off" Mac said, sniffling audibly and wiping at his nose once he broke the hug in order to look at his partner in the eyes "for all of us. I owe you guys..." he trailed off, yawning "... A vacation or something" Jack smiled and pressed the button to lower Mac's headrest so he could lay down.

"Sound like a plan, after you take a nap. You haven't slept since yesterday" Jack said.

"Neither have you" Mac countered around another yawn.

"Yeah, well, I still have a very important job to do" Mac looked at him, confused "let everyone know you're okay" he put his hand on Mac's forehead and brushed the bangs out of his face. Mac didn't object the obvious fatherly gesture, instead leaning into it and closing his eyes "Sleep. I promise I'll be here when you wake up" he said, not willing to take a step out of that room and risk breaking that promise under any circumstances.

When he was sure Mac was down for the count, he fished out his phone and called the rest of their team, their friends... Their family.

If they found him sound asleep with his head on top of Mac's hand, which he was gripping at the edge of the bed, or if his eyes were irritated after all the crying he'd done when Mac had fallen asleep, no one commented on it.

Instead, what he got was a gentle hand on his shoulder and a warm smile from the rest of his friends. He'd just lived through one of the scariest 48 hours of his life, and he was glad that by the end of the day, they all got to go home... Together.

 **THE END – FINITO – TERMINADO**

 **There you have it! I really, really, really hope you liked this chapter. While I was reading it I thought to myself this ended up being a lot about Jack and his feelings when dealing with such a situation, but I liked it that way and I hope you guys liked it too.**

 **It took me a while to get this chapter done, because it is loosely based on experience and I kind of wanted to get the details right. Not the medical ones, since I suck at being accurate about that, but mostly about the feelings involved in the processes described on the chapter. Writing this was kind of therapeutic for me, so I'm satisfied with it.**

 **I also can't wait to know what you thought about it so please, please, please, leave a review if you can. Thanks!**

 **I hope I can come up with another idea soon!**


	20. No Shit Sherlock!

**Hey! Another one shot so soon? I know, I'm surprised too. This little one shot isn't so heavy on the emotions as the last one… it's just a little scene that came to my mind today and I felt like writing it. Hopefully it'll provide you with something entertaining to read.**

 **I wanna thank everyone for being so supportive with this fic and for taking the time to leave a comment. Reviews make my day and make me smile goofily.**

 **Soooooooo…. We have reached chapter 20! When I started this fanfic I never thought it would get this far, but there you have it. The MacGyver world is awesome and I'm just obsessed with the reboot.**

 **Well… enough about it, let's read!**

 **WARNING: nothing major, just a few cuss words here and there… I mean, it's on the tittle!**

 **Summary: one simple mission turns into a life or death situation where Riley has exactly 4 minutes and 23 seconds to save someone's life. How will she do it?**

 **CHAPTER 20: No Shit Sherlock!**

Riley had never felt more pressure in her life.

She guessed this is how EODs felt whenever they were working to disarm a bomb and they only had seconds left on the clock. She honestly didn't know how Mac could keep his cool in such a situation.

Right now, she wasn't about to diffuse any bomb and she didn't have to decide between cutting a blue or a green wire; but she was working on a clock and someone's life depended on it. Mac's life, to be specific. If she failed, Mac would suffocate in 4 minutes and 23 seconds.

They were in Chicago, infiltrating on a software development company suspected of selling top secret government information on the black market to US enemies and their mission was simple: upload a virus into their main servers to destroy all the information they may have while also coping the list of transactions already made or programmed to happen. That info was the last piece of damning evidence the government needed to make a move on the company and arrest everyone involved on multiple counts of treason.

Everyone's role had been selected as usual. Mac would be the one heading into the building to find the servers, Jack would watch out the perimeter and stay close to the entrance in case anything went wrong, and Riley would provide technical support from the van. Cage and Bozer were on another assignment together, so they didn't get to participate in this one.

It actually would've been a text book operation if not for the freaking fire alarm sounding when a coffee machine short circuited on a hallway, creating enough of a smoke cloud for the detectors to pick up on and activate the obnoxious sound. Hearing any kind of alarm bell is always disconcerting, almost as if the human body had been made to react viscerally to it, making you edgy and nervous. But for Riley and Jack, hearing Mac swear was way, way worse, because it usually meant something was terribly wrong.

"What is it, pal?" Jack asked, watching how the building's workers filed out of the place in a strangely calmed frenzy and looking out for a blond head amongst the crowd "Did you pull the fire alarm? Because I thought creating a distraction would be my job this time" he said in his usual mocking tone that only served to mask the seriousness of his questions.

"No, I didn't!" Mac replied hastily "But since the alarm went off, I'm trapped in the servers room and the thing's locked tight" he continued urgently.

"Oookay, I'm sure you can find a way out. Do you need me to come fetch ya?"

"Jack!" this time, it was Riley's rushed voice that caught him off "the servers room gets locked airtight when the alarm is pulled and the oxygen is sucked out of it completely to prevent any fire from starting inside" now _that_ got Jack's attention.

"What!?" he said, making his way into the building and fighting against the wave of people coming out. He could hear Riley over the comms typing furiously at her keyboard "Mac?" he asked, noticing the younger agent had gone suspiciously quiet "You alright? I'm coming in"

Mac took his time to answer. He wouldn't deny that he was... Not scared, but slightly anxious at the prospect of being locked inside a room in which oxygen was quickly being sucked out. He had barely began uploading the virus when the fire alarm had gone off and, knowing perfectly well what would happen to that room, he'd made a dash towards the door but not managing to arrive in time. The door had slid shut in his face and immediately after, the vents on the roof began their process of taking the oxygen out.

It hadn't even been a minute, and he could already feel the difficulty of breathing normally. The room was kind of small and it wouldn't take much time before there was absolutely no oxygen left. At the sound of his name being called again, he gulped and talked back.

"I'm good for now, but I don't see a way of bypassing the door" he said "Riley, can you hack into the schematics of the room? I also need details of the fire prevention system"

"Way ahead of you" she said and then started giving Mac the details he needed for his calculations. When she was done, five seconds passed until he had an answer.

"Given the size of the room and the functioning of their alarm system, I'm gonna run out of air in 7 and a half minutes. Right then, Jack made it to a corner and found the servers room. One of the walls and the door was made of glass, from top to bottom, and he could see Mac inside, inspecting the door. He had heard his partner's statement and he didn't like the odds one bit.

"Tell me you already have a plan brother" Jack asked hopefully, his voice reaching Mac over the comms and also a bit muffled through the glass. Mac stared at him for a moment with an expression Jack couldn't quite decipher but that wasn't at all reassuring. They both walked closer to the glass.

"I can't open the door from the inside and I can't reach the roof to work on the ventilation system" Jack nodded, determination set firm on his hand.

"That settles it then" he said, taking a step back and drawing the gun that was tucked away on his back.

"No! Jack, wait!" Mac tried to warn him, but he was too late.

Jack fired at the glass, a total of three shots. Mac shrunk away by reflex even though he knew the glass wouldn't break. Jack dropped his gun, his face serious.

"It's... bullet proof Jack" the younger man said.

"Well, no shit Sherlock!" Jack kind of growled, not missing the way his partner seemed to be breathing heavier "What do we do now?"

"Now" Riley chimed in "you gotta deal with the security guys heading your way after hearing all those shots" Jack groaned, bracing himself for the heavy duty. He pointed a finger at Mac.

"You better use that melon of yours to find a way outta there" he said, turning to welcome the party of men making their way down the hall. Mac knew Jack could take care of them easily, so he focused back to the problem at hand.

"Ri" he called, taking a deeper breath than before and noticing alarmingly how the air felt thicker around him "You gotta... hack your way in and... override the system" it was getting harder to talk.

"I'm on it Mac, but these people have some serious firewalls installed. They develop software so they know how to protect their grid" she explained, even though she was typing furiously and using every trick up her sleeve to get through.

"You gotta... It's the only... Way" Riley frowned at hearing how difficult it was for Mac to talk.

He'd said he would have 7 and a half minutes before all oxygen ran out, and he was reaching the four-minute count. 4 minutes and 23 seconds, that's how long he had.

Outside of the servers room, Jack was wrecking havoc. He was hitting jaws, punching guts and kicking asses all over the place until no guard was left standing, and all without firing a single bullet. The soon to be dismantled company needed to work on their security personnel. Apparently though, their fire system was pretty well updated.

When the last of the guards dropped, Jack turned back to the room where he was mortified to find that Mac was now leaning against the glass wall, near the door, with his chest heaving almost painfully. His eyes were slightly wider than they should have.

"Mac? Hey, buddy, you doin' okay in there?" he asked, coming closer to the wall and tapping on the glass to get Mac's attention. Mac looked up at him and Jack could see that he was trying real hard not to panic. The younger man gave him a small smile.

"Never... better" he wheezed, and then slid a few inches towards the ground.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey. You stay upright, you hear me?" Mac nodded but didn't respond, he needed to conserve as much oxygen as he could "Riley? How are you doing over there? How long to get our boy out?"

"I'm working on it" she answered back, the muscles of her hands almost cramping by how fast she was typing "I already breached the first defenses but the system keeps riding me out. I need access to a few deeper layers of coding to gain control of the locking mechanisms and open the door"

"Hurry up kiddo, Mac ain't looking so good" he prompted and she huffed. She didn't need him to tell her what she could already see on the security cameras. Mac had already fallen the rest of the way to the floor and looked like the only thing keeping him on a sitting position was the wall next to him, giving him support.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" she said, feeling the pressure of the situation enhanced by the timer she had set up on the corner of her screen. 3 minutes and 10 seconds.

Back inside the room, Mac was feeling really woozy and maybe it was a good thing he was already sitting on the floor, because else he would've fallen spectacularly on his ass. His breathing was getting heavier with every inhale, and as deep and wide as he made his lungs expand, he just couldn't get enough air. The sensation was horribly similar to drowning, and even though there was no water, the desperation was the same. He knew he didn't have much time left, and if Riley didn't open the door soon, it would be too late for him.

"Ri... Riley..." he called, his voice low.

"I'm here Mac, I'm trying!" she answered, knowing she wasn't exactly reassuring him. 2 minutes and 36 seconds.

Then Mac noticed Jack dropping down beside him, on the other side of the glass and putting a hand against the glass, right on top of the hand Mac was keeping there as well.

"Now you listen to me Angus. Riley's gonna boobity bup this thing and get you out of there so you just focus on breathing, alright?" Mac shook his head slightly and lifted his hand off the glass to take the comm out of his ear. He didn't want Riley to hear him like this and he knew there was no escaping the panic rush that came with any form of suffocation. It was a natural instinct of the body and he could already feel his limbs starting to jerk a bit. He had barely a minute now.

"Mac, what are you doing?" Jack asked puzzled while Mac dropped the comm on the floor and placed his hand back on top of Jack's.

"I... can't... I can't" he tried to say, the panic he had so valiantly tried to keep at bay now making an appearance in his eyes "Jack... J..ck... not... fault... tell... Ri..."

"Stop it!" Jack said alarmed "conserve your oxygen, don't talk!" he couldn't believe this was happening. This mission had been as easy as they come, how had they ended up with Mac at the brink of death? The fear on Mac's eyes set his own fear on fire (ugh! Wrong choice of words) "Riley! Come on! He's fading!" he urged, his voice tight.

"I know! I'm almost there! Hang on Mac!" but he couldn't hear her, so Jack relayed the information.

"She's almost got it Mac, hang in there!"

43 seconds on the clock.

Mac was wheezing painfully, now clutching desperately at his chest and pounding on the glass with his fist. This was it. He was gonna die. He locked eyes with Jack, and saw the pain in his partner's eyes. He wanted to say so much to him: _'I love you Big Guy', 'Thanks for being an awesome partner, the best of friends and one hell of a father' 'I don't wanna die yet Jack' 'I'm sorry Jack_ ' but none of those thoughts left his mouth since there was almost no air at all. His eyes started to close and the last thing he saw was his partner banging desperately on the wall.

"I GOT IT! Jack! I got the door!" Riley shouted and Jack sprinted to his feet, ready to tear the fucking door from its hinges the moment the little green light beeped. He ran inside and picked Mac off the floor, grabbing him under the armpits and dragging him out of that dreadful room.  
Once outside, he laid him flat on the floor and started to shake him.

"Mac! MAC! Come on Mac, wake up!" the kid's lips were blue and his skin was cold and clammy. Jack patted his cheek, roughly "To hell with it!" he suddenly exclaimed before tilting Mac's head back, pinching his nose, bending forward and blowing air into him. He did it once, twice... And then...

Mac opened his eyes and took a mouthful of air, expanding his chest almost painfully while clutching at it with his hands. But, after the momentary relief of that first inhalation of air, his body got locked in it and refused to let it go, so he was right back where he started.

"Let it go Mac!" Jack instructed, but the younger man shook his head, letting him know he couldn't.

Jack knew what he had to do. He drove a fist into Mac's stomach, hopefully not hard enough to hurt but strong enough to make him release the air he was holding and make him take another breath. The trick worked, and Mac was able to keep breathing after that. Jack let out a sigh of relief and clasped Mac's hands, the younger man latching on desperately.

"That's it. Breathe. In and out, try to slow it down" Jack was coaching him through the frenzy of being able to breathe again.

"Is he okay?" Jack heard Riley ask, her voice pretty shaken. Jack let out a relieved laugh.

"Yeah baby, he's breathing again so you did good. You did real good" Riley couldn't help her own stress filled laugh.

"Hey Mac, you with me yet?" he asked, once Mac had slowed his breathing enough to sound like he'd just won a marathon. The blond gave him a small smile and nodded, not sure he trusted himself to speak. Jack used his intertwined hands to pull Mac up into a sitting position, placing on of his hands on the kid's shoulder for support. The partners looked at each other and then started laughing, much like they'd done after the bomb in the casino went off, or when they'd stopped a train in Frankfurt from crashing. A few good laughs were the world's best stress reliever. Right until the moment Mac's laughs turned to choked sobs and his eyes started to water. That had scared the shit out of him. When Jack noticed, he put a hand on the back of his neck.

"You okay brother?" he asked, his voice serious. Mac quickly wiped at his eyes and cleared his throat. He was alright. Nothing to get worked up about. He nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine" Jack helped him up to his feet "The drive. We gotta get the drive"

"I got it" Jack said, stepping back into the room and recovering their flash drive. At least the mission had been accomplished.

They made their way out of the building. Thankfully no more guards showed up and no one questioned their presence. Just like they had thought: it was a text book operation, if you take away the fact that one of them almost died. But that happened to the best of them, right?  
They walked another block and made it to the van, from which Riley had jumped out of to give Mac a bone crushing hug. One that he returned gladly.

"Thanks" he said simply, and she nodded into his shoulder.

"Alright!" Jack exclaimed, clapping his hands together and rubbing them "Who's ready to get outta here?" he asked, and they all jumped back into the van to start their way to the exfil location. It was time to go back home and celebrate a successful mission.

 **THE END – FINITO – TEMRINADO**

 **I know this was really short, but I just kinda got the urge to write something today and finish it today and this came out… I hope you all enjoyed it and are kind enough to leave some comments.**

 **Also, I've noticed that this fic has gotten quite big. This one makes the story number 20 and I was wondering if you guys wanted me to continue or are actually tired of these one shots. I do try to make them different, not sure if I manage it though. Like you all know, my thing is Mac whump, hurt/comfort and bromance. I love Mac and Jack's relationship and I wish I could have someone in my life I could rely on the way they rely on each other.**

 **So… what do you think? Should I continue? Should I stop?**

 **Let me know!**


	21. Sooner Rather than Later

**Soooooooooooooo, I sure took my sweet time in posting again but I couldn't let the second month of the new go by without another one shot. This one took me a whole week to write and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I'm really hoping you guys like it and please leave a comment to let me know. I hope I don't take that long in posting again.**

 **Also, this has gotta be the longest one shot I've written so far. I mean, it just has to be!**

 **I can't wait to see what you guys think. This one has a little bit of everything and I think it's gonna be appealing to all the Jack whump lovers out there. Of course, Mac also has to be in that picture. You all know me, Mac whump is like a drug to me: I just can't avoid it.**

 **So… for this one I'm not gonna write a summary. You'll just have to read on and see what happens! Let's just keep in mind that there are brief references of the episode "Mac + Jack" but let's also pretend that the episode where Murdoc kidnapped Mac didn't happen. I mean, It could have happened and this story wouldn't be affected but there's also no mention of that in this story. Cage is also present, which is weird for me because I think I've only mentioned her once in my one shots.**

 **So… no more boring stuff: hope you like it!**

 **CHAPTER 21: Sooner Rather than Later**

Movement.

That was all Mac was aware of right now.

He wasn't sure which way was up, which way was down. He didn't know where he was or what was happening around him. He only knew that he was moving and that moving without knowing why or how made him nauseous.

Also, it was dark. Most of the time anyway, because sometimes he could distinguish flashes of light, but there weren't many, and he couldn't even tell if his eyes were open or not.

Worst of all though, was not knowing if he was alone. He could be anywhere, surrounded by anyone, friend or foe, and he wouldn't be able to tell. He felt like he was in a dream. His brain wasn't working right. That much he could tell.

What was going on?

As his brain started to slip further into the darkness, Mac failed to notice the slightly psychotic grin breaking into the face hovering above him. A face he still didn't recognize due to his drugged state and one that wasn't only haunting him in his dreams now. He was haunting him for real.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

Jack woke up late that morning. It was a sunday, the clock reaching the 10am mark and he relished in the feeling of having slept soundly. No nightmares to wake him up in the middle of the night. No lingering emotions threatening to choke him down. He was well rested and just content to lay there, under the covers of his bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking: today's one of those days.

One of those days in which he didn't have to distract himself with anything to keep his mind away from unpleasant memories. A day he could enjoy by doing nothing. Absolutely nothing. A day where he wasn't bothered by his own company.

That didn't mean he had to spend the day necessarily alone.

He reached for his phone on the bedside table. He had no messages. No alerts. No missed calls. Apparently today was gonna be a quiet day for everyone.  
If only...

He dialed Mac's number, putting his phone on speaker while he dressed. He was pulling his shirt down when he frowned. The call went to voicemail. Weird.  
Jack glanced at the clock again in case he'd been mistaken but no, it was indeed 10am and even though he was known for sleeping in from time to time... Okay, maybe once every three or so months, Mac never, ever, slept after 8 o'clock even when he'd had good nights too.  
He dialed the number again, in case Mac had been in the bathroom or something but it went to voice mail again. Not good.

This could only mean one thing. Mac was out looking for his father again. Without him.  
Jack sighed, heading to the kitchen for some breakfast. He would swing by Mac's place later. He had promised the kid he wouldn't hover over him so much, but he would never fail to be concerned about him. This search for his father was very emotionally consuming and an emotional Mac was a dangerous Mac, not because he'd do anything dangerous but because he usually let his guard down when he was dealing with the subject of his father.

Another sigh. Stupid, incredibly annoying self-sacrificing heartwarming kid. Jack remember the first time he met Mac, having instantly disliked him for messing with his stuff and being prone to disobeying orders. He smiled. He wouldn't have it any other way now.  
Eventually his worry spurred him into eating faster and heading over Mac's place earlier than planned.

He arrived a good 30 minutes later, walking through the front door not bothering to call out to Bozer since the man hadn't returned from his school trip (because Jack totally believed the spy course Bozer had been sent to was almost like a school trip) and just calling for his partner.

"Yo, Mac?" he said, walking around the kitchen and livingroom, sneaking a peek out at the deck but finding every place empty. When no answer was provided, he began to lose his light tone "Mac? You here?" nothing.

Jack registered the bedroom and bathroom. They were empty as well. He could feel a knot tightening in his stomach. Mac's jeep was parked outside, so where was he? He tried Mac's phone again, but when no one picked up he let out a curse.

He was about to call Riley to ask her to track down Mac's phone when the ringtone he reserved only for his partner started blaring on his own. Jack let out a relieved breath and answered.

"Finally decided to resurface, did ya?" he asked somewhat accusingly. If only Mac really understood how much Jack's heart stuttered every time he thought he might be in danger.

"Actually, I did" answered a voice that was definitely not his partner's and that had Jack's blood turning to ice. It also sharpened his senses.

"Murdoc. What did you do?" he asked with venom in his voice and gripping his phone tightly.

"Oh a little of this, little of that. Isn't that what our boy genius likes to say?" Jack could've growled.

" _My_ boy" he corrected "Where is he?" Murdoc tsked.

"All in due time. All I can say now is that he's being taken very good care of, although I imagine he wouldn't feel the same" Jack's heart picked up in speed.

"What do you want?" he asked, willing to do anything to get his partner back but also heading out the door and into the car to head over to the Phoenix. If he was going to find Mac, he needed all available resources.

"For starters, I would like for you to not head over to your working place. You would be wasting time anyway, going in the opposite direction from us" Jack immediately pulled over.

"Quit your games Murdoc! _What_ do you want?" but the psychopath evaded the question again.

"How much do you care about him?" Jack knew better than to answer such a baiting question. He suspected Murdoc knew the answer anyway. After a minute of silence and heavy breathing on Jack's part, Murdoc kept talking "I'll give you a chance to find him Jacky-boy" the Phoenix agent cringed at the nickname "12 hours and I'm done with him. You can have him after that"

"What are you talking about!?" Jack asked, getting frustrated on top of angry. What could Murdoc possibly want with Mac for 12 hours?

"You will find him in exactly 11 hours and 59 minutes" and he hang up, leaving Jack to try and calm his racing heart by placing his forehead on the steering wheel.

"This is not happening. This is so not happening" he muttered to himself and then called Matty.

He explained everything Murdoc said and Matty ordered him into the office, disregarding Murdoc's first request. She would call the rest of the team in and they would begin the search.  
Jack turned the car back to life and hurried over the Foundation, all the while thinking that if he hadn't slept in, he might've caught Mac before he'd been taken.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

Mac opened his eyes slowly, blinking owlishly to try and bring his surroundings into focus. He recognized the signs of having been drugged and the pounding headache threatening to split his head open. He groaned at the effort of lifting his head and that's when he realized the position he was in.

He was hanging by his hands against a wall, his feet barely touching the ground, which put a strain on his wrists and shoulders that was more than uncomfortable. He heard some tinkering and roamed his eyes around the room he was in. It was a square wooden room, lit by natural sun light filtering through the rows of windows adorning the top of the walls.

The sound of metal clinking brought his attention back to a dark figure on the other side of the room, directly in front of him. He had to keep blinking until finally his vision cleared enough for him to see straight, noticing that the figure on the other side of the room was a person who was leaning over something with his back turned to him.

 _Bang!_

Mac jumped at the noise, his heart skyrocketing and his head pulsing in rhythm with it. The figure let out a giggle and turned to face him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry MacGyver. Didn't realize the trigger was so sensitive" and Mac was making his best effort to glare at the man. Murdoc then came closer to him, forgetting for a moment the weapon he had just fired and leaving it behind on what looked like a chair "So nice of you to finally wake up"

Mac let his head rest against the wall while he regarded Murdoc with what he hoped was a neutral expression. Murdoc was now standing close to him, real close, studying him and making him want to look away. But he didn't. He wouldn't show fear in front of this man.

"Ah... Such spirit MacGyver" Murdoc exclaimed, his typical cynical smile never wavering "That's one of the things I like most about you. I can keep coming at ya and you still remain standing" Mac swallowed the cotton ball inside his throat and found his voice.

"What are we doing here?" he asked, his voice rough and deeper than usual, all the result of whatever drug Murdoc had used to knock him out. He flinched at the sudden movement and noise when Murdoc clapped his hands together.

"We're gonna play a little game! You know that annoying friend of yours? Jack?" at the sound of his partner's name, Mac's attention sharpened, and he regarded Murdoc with hate.

"If you did something to-"

"Reeeeelax. He's fine. On his way here I suppose" Mac frowned in confusion. He was sure Murdoc was being confusing on purpose which wasn't helping his drugged brain make sense of the other man's plan.

"Then what do you want?"

"Oh nothing much. Just a few names and locations that only Phoenix knows about" Murdoc answered as if it was no big deal.

"Then you're wasting your time" Mac said, swallowing again "I won't tell you anything" he finished, defiance in his eyes.

"Which is why I haven't asked you anything, dear MacGyver. While your friends at the Phoenix are all busy trying to find their golden boy, I already have someone in place to acquire the information that I need. I'm sorry to break it to you Mac, can I call you Mac? But you're just a diversion... This time" Mac scowled at him.

"You must be crazier than I thought if you think you can access Phoenix's files" Murdoc laughed.

"I already accessed your building once. Don't you remember?" of course he remembered "So getting my hands on some little file won't be that difficult. Honestly, I don't think all this was even necessary but, you know me! I love a good cat and mouse game"

Suddenly, an alarm started sounding and Murdoc reached into his pocket for his phone and turned it off.

"Well, time to send your friends some proof of life and a way to track us down" Then he produced a roll of duct tape and Mac tried trashing his head around to avoid the gag but a hard pull of his hair had him stilling enough for the other man to place the tape on top of his mouth.

Before he could brace himself for whatever Murdoc had planned, a hard open palm slap made his head turn to the side and left him seeing stars. He turned his head to look at Murdoc but the action was interrupted by another, harsher slap. Mac groaned through the gag and fisted his hands above his head. He took a few deep breaths and prepared to take the rest of the onslaught.

Murdoc wasn't holding back. He knew how to hit someone to cause a lot of pain without injuring anything important. None of his ribs were broken or even cracked, but Mac found it hard to expand his chest and take a full breath. He had a cut on his left eyebrow and a bruise already darkening on his cheek. If Murdoc kept at it, he would soon pass out. But the other man didn't, instead he fished another phone out of his pocket and Mac realized it was his phone. Murdoc reached for one of his hands cuffed above his head to take a hold of one finger and use it to unlock the finger print locking mechanism on the phone. He went to the camera app and changed it to video recording. He pointed the phone at Mac and smiled.

"Say hi to your friends MacGyver"

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

"Come on people! I need some leads" Matty yelled to the group of people working furiously in trying to find their missing agent. They were in the war room and a huge clock was ticking by, almost mockingly, on the corner of the screen.  
6 hours and 15 minutes. That's how long they had to find Mac, according to Murdoc, which wasn't a very reliable source of information so Matty was pushing everyone around to focus solely on finding anything, no matter how small, that could help them get to MacGyver faster.

The team was there too: Riley was leading the search via tech while Cage worked on finding any clues that might be hidden in the conversation Jack'd had with Murdoc that morning.  
Jack was on a corner, his arms folded in front of his chest and he was staring with a scowl at the immense screen on the wall. A screen that still didn't show them where Mac was or what might be happening to him right now. Jack didn't want to get lost in the images his brain was conjuring up about what Murdoc could be doing to his partner, but it was hard not to when you couldn't focus on anything else. His job wasn't handling technology, he wasn't a lab rat, as much as it pained him to admit it, he didn't have Cage's entire skill set when it came to 'hacking someone's brain', and he certainly couldn't make solutions appear out of nowhere... That was Mac's job. All in all, he felt utterly useless and it was showing in his mood.

He was about to ask, for the hundredth time if someone had managed to find a lead when his phone beeped with a message. When he looked at it, his heart jumped and he called everyone at attention.

"Hey! I got a message from Mac's phone. It's gotta be Murdoc" he handed the phone to Riley and she set it up to show the message on the big screen. It was a video and everyone gulped, anticipating what might be in it. Under Matty's command, Riley played it through and they were greeted with an image that sent a stab of pain down Jack's stomach and a voice that sent chills through everyone else.

"Say hi to your friends MacGyver"

They could see a badly bruised Mac hanging by his hands, his mouth taped shut and his eyes open half-mast. He was breathing fast and Jack could see the pain hidden behind the determination of remaining strong inside those baby blue eyes. Mac wasn't looking at the camera, but rather at the person behind it. Murdoc kept talking on the video.

"As you can see, our boy isn't having the time of his life here. You now have half the time I gave you to find him Jacky-boy... Are you there Jacky-boy?" at the mention of his name, Mac had changed his focus from Murdoc to the camera and Jack felt like he was looking right at him "Of course you are. Remember: you now have 6 hours to get to him before it's too late"

Jack was about to answer, forgetting for a moment that this was a pre-recorded video and not a video call when he saw Mac's eyes widen in surprise and his breathing pick up in rate. The camera lost its steadiness and they could all see a gloved hand reaching for their friend holding a syringe. Mac tried to get away but it was useless, he was bound.

"No!" Jack exclaimed, knowing there was nothing he could do to avoid what surely must have already happened. He knew how much his partner hated to be drugged, to feel like he couldn't think straight enough to find a way out of a dangerous situation.

They could all hear Mac's groan when the needle was plunged into his neck and then his fight to remain conscious. It was a losing battle though, and with every breath he took, his eyelids dropped a little further until his head was hanging on his chest and his dead weight pulled on the restraints above his head. It was a dangerous position. Mac's airway could be blocked, the strain on his shoulders enough to dislocate them if he didn't stand up on his own soon.  
Jack wanted to send a fist flying into the screen, if only the fist could reach Murdoc.

The video ended with another reminder of the time they had left and the war room remained silent for a few more minutes until Matty took back control of the situation.

"Riley, analyze the video and find something, anything that can tell us where baby Einstein is. Shadows, reflections, sounds, background. I want every little detail picked apart"

"On it" Riley answered, still troubled by the video they had just seen but more determined than ever to get their friend back safe.

Matty rattled a few more orders and everyone got to work. When she addressed Jack and Cage, her expression was serious.

"You and me" she said, gesturing at the two of them "we're gonna make some calls"

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

Mac woke up an undetermined amount of time later to the same wooden room, only, this time, it was empty. No Murdoc in sight.

Mac sighed through his nose, relieved. Time to find a way out. Whatever drug Murdoc had given him made his body weight tons more than it should, or maybe it drained him of the necessary strength to support himself right. His neck was stiff and his shoulders screamed in agony. He could feel his hands cold by lack of circulation and his brain still wasn't working right.

He stood up, as much as his feet could touch the floor and allow him to do so and started feeling around the lock on the cuffs restraining him. Unfortunately, unless he could produce something to pick the lock with out of thin air, he wasn't breaking out of the cuffs.

He didn't know exactly how much time had passed since Murdoc drugged him. He noticed the distinctive lack of natural light and piercing of the yellow light emanating from a lightbulb in the ceiling. So, nighttime. The 12 hour mark Murdoc had been talking about in the video must have been drawing near and Mac found himself staring at the door, willing it to open and show his partner followed by a team of Phoenix agents coming to the rescue. As it was, the door remained stubbornly closed. He had to admit though, that he preferred it that way if it meant Murdoc wasn't around either. It was amazing how much he could hate someone and how much that someone creeped him out. He could only hope they could get the psycho into custody once again after all this was done, if only-

 _Bang!_

Mac jumped at the sound of a gunshot again, the loud crack bringing his attention back to his surroundings and finally his eyes rested upon the chair that had been so innocently resting at the other end of the room, in front of him, and that only now his still kind of drugged brain recognized was a contraption that allowed for what looked like a sniper rifle to remain on top of it and aimed. The barrel of the weapon was pointing to his right, and when he looked to the side he saw the splintered wood where the bullet had made impact.

He glanced back at the rifle again, absolutely sure no one had been there to fire it, no matter how drugged he might have been, and that's when he heard it. It was a mechanical sound, like wheels turning and the rifle milimetrically changed its aim. Mac knew what was coming, but the sound still made him flinch.

 _Bang!_

The weapon began to move again, coming closer to him if only by an inch.

 _Bang!_

Shit. Shit! Mac thought, his breathing picking up speed while he yanked on his restrained hands, only managing to make the metal cut into his wrist even more.

 _Bang!_

Mac forced himself to calm down and pushed his uncharacteristically slow brain to make the calculations and see how long it would take the rifle to be aimed directly at him and for the first bullet to enter his body. It was safe to say that the answer wasn't encouraging and having the rifle firing another shot wasn't helping his situation at all.

According to the rate of shots being fired and the space between each shot, the weapon would reach him in about 10 minutes, give or take one because he didn't trust his math processing right now.

Unless Phoenix found him in the next few minutes, he was as good as dead.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

 _Earlier at the Phoenix Foundation:_

"I got something!" Riley called from her spot of the couch of the war room.

"What is it?" Cage asked. They had returned from a meeting with someone high up the range in the military, unfortunately a waste of time, and were now depending solely on the only clue Murdoc had provided: the video.

"I managed to crack the encryption Murdoc used on the video. We know he turned Mac's phone gps off so we couldn't track him that way but he left some prints on the encryption that I could use to triangulate at least a general location from where he sent it. I crossed referenced it with the information we gathered from the video itself. There was the natural light in the room, the reflection on Mac's eyes, the angle of his shadow on the wall. Also, when Murdoc grabbed the camera with only one hand to inject Mac with the needle, Mac's struggles made him point the camera up, for a split second and we got a picture of that frame. There was the top of a building outside the window. We put all of that together and we got..." a few keystrokes on her laptop "... A possible location. It's the most accurate I could get with what we have"

"This might just be enough" Matty said and turned to Jack, who was studying the map on the screen. The area was big. It was an abandoned warehouse scheduled for demolition in a few months. The place had many rooms in it and he wasn't sure they'd be able to search them all in the little time they had left. 11 hours and 25 minutes. Apparently, Murdoc had been right, he had said they'd find Mac in 11 hours and 59 minutes.

"... ack? Jack? Yo, cowbow!" Jack snapped his attention back to their boss.

"Clock's ticking, take a team and go find blondie"

"Yes ma'am" he said and gestured for Cage to follow.

Jack coordinated with the Phoenix agents they'd be taking to raid the compound and soon he and Cage were leading the vehicles out of the building and towards the place where they would hopefully find Mac.

11 hours and 34 minutes. They only had 26 minutes left on the clock.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

Mac's wrists were bleeding profusely by the time the weapon was half way to him. He had yanked the cuffs with all his strength hoping desperation would be enough to snap them, but it wasn't. His body was weak and it hurt all over from Murdoc's beating. No one had showed up yet.  
' _Come on Jack. Any time now_ ' he thought.

 _Bang!_

He had stopped jumping at the sound, expecting it to happen every few seconds. He knew that he would be feeling the pain rip into his abdomen in about five or six shots. And then again, and again, because the space between each shot was minimal. By the time the weapon's aim had passed by him, there would be four bullets in him. What a horrible way to die, he thought.

If only Jack would walk through that door.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

"Alright people, listen up! This place is huge so we're gonna split into pairs and search every damn-"

 _Bang!_

Jack turned around immediately at the sound. The group of Phoenix's agents had gathered at the entrance of the place, a huge combination of warehouses, office buildings and other spaces Jack didn't care about. Right now his attention was focused on the possible location where that gunshot had come from.

 _Bang!_

"Damn!" he made a move to begin moving in that direction when Cage halted him.

"Jack wait! It could be a trap" she said, her accent somehow making the words more accurate.

"Or it could be Mac getting shot at!" but then he took a calming breath. His partner needed him to be the trained and experienced operative that he was "Okay, we'll still go in pairs and check under every rock. I don't want surprises coming our way and Murdoc sure likes his games" he finished just as another shot sounded coming from the warehouse to their left. He looked pointedly at Cage.

"Let's go" she confirmed

Jack and Cage ran all the way to the warehouse, stopping at the door and taking a stance to breach the place, Jack leading the front while Cage covered his back.

 _Bang!_

None of them flinched at the sound, being accustomed to it and together they moved forwards.

The walked through a long hallway, their assault rifles at the ready and cleared the first door to their right: an office. An empty office, so they moved on.

 _Bang!_

And that when they pinpointed the origin of the shots: they were coming from the left door in the middle of the hall. Jack indicated his approach and got an affirmative from Cage. Through their comms they heard the other teams clearing the place one by one, and every time Jack heard a negative response, his resolve built even stronger for what, or _who_ , may be through the door he was now facing.

 _Bang!_

This time, he did jump. They were so close but there was something nagging at him. Something about the shots felt wrong. They were too precise, spaced together by the same number of seconds. And there were no other sounds coming from the other side of the door.

What if Cage had been right? What if this was just a trap and Mac wasn't in there? He knew they still needed to clear the room and find out what the gunshots were all about, so he squared his shoulders and indicated Cage to open the door so he could be the first one in. If this was indeed a trap and instead of Mac they came face to face with Murdoc, at least he'd have a chance to break the man's bones, each and every one of them.

Cage pushed the door open at the same time another shot was fired and a grunt of pain made it all the way to their ears.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

Mac had stopped struggling, now focused solely on slowing his breathing because he was getting dizzy and it had nothing to do with the drugs Murdoc had given him all those hours ago. Chances were they were already on their way out of his system.

He had started to hyperventilate when he counted only three more shots until the weapon reached his body. Thinking about the pain of being shot in the abdomen multiple times was only adding to the torture and he cursed Murdoc and his psychological games for the thousandth time. How he hated that guy.

There was another bang and now two more shots until he died. That left him about ten seconds. What do you think about when you only have ten seconds to live? Movies always tell you that you see your whole life passing before your eyes, but now Mac called Hollywood bullshit. He wasn't seeing his life in any kind of emotional way, he was seeing stars dancing across his vision from how dizzy his panic was making him.

 _Bang!_

Mac flinched, moaning into the gag out of desperation. The next shot would reach him. He was sure of it.

True enough, after a few more seconds ticked by, the gun went off and, at first, he had been momentarily distracted by the door of the room opening but then he felt the burn in his side and he grunted. The aim of the weapon hadn't quite reached him, so the bullet only grazed him on his right side. That didn't make the burn any less painful and the prospect of the next bullet any less scary. He _would_ get hit within the next few seconds and there was no way around it.

He closed his eyes, not having the time to see who had opened the door and braced himself for the impact.

 _Bang!_

The next shot went off, but instead of feeling a bullet rip straight to him, he felt a massive weight slam into him, knocking the wind out of him and making him open his eyes wide.

 _JACK!_ He thought, before another shot went off.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

When he stepped through the door, Jack only had a split second to sweep the room for any threats and understand what was going on.

He saw his partner hanging from the wall, a pained expression on his face, a small stain of blood on his side, and then his eyes went to the rifle on the chair, hearing and seeing it move a few inches towards his partner.

Later, Jack wouldn't exactly remember how his brain put the picture together so fast: the odd timing of the shots, the gadget were the rifle rested, the bullet holes on the wall making their way to Mac, the stain of blood on his shirt. The weapon had already reached him. Well… shit!

Jack sprinted forward, not having the time or the knowledge to stop the riffle mechanism from shooting at his partner again and just thinking about how the next bullet would hit Mac again. He put himself between the trajectory of the weapon and Mac, and another shot went off.

He felt it slam into his back and the strength of the hit propelled him into his partner. He tried to brace himself with his hands on the wall, but he still slammed into the blond, eliciting both a gasp from him and a grunt from himself. His back was on fire but, thankfully, his vest had stopped the bullet.

"Jack!" he heard Cage shouting and he turned his head to the side to glance back at her as much as he could.

"Turn that thing off!" he grunted and then turned his head back to the front to glance at his partner. Mac's eyes were wide with what he thought was disbelief and fear. He couldn't blame the kid, after all-

 _Bang!_

"Urgh!" Jack uttered when another bullet slammed into his back and he almost lost his footing. He could tell the weapon had moved a few inches to the right but, after the shock of another impact, the pain kind of spread all over his back.

He could now hear Mac, shouting through the gag, desperate to say something, but Jack didn't want to risk changing his position to get the tape away from his face and lose his balance. He had already slipped a bit to the floor but he'd be damned if he let his partner unprotected.

"Cage!" he roared, making her hurry "Today would be nice" he hissed.

"I'm on it!" Cage answered, trying to find a way to stop the rifle from shooting again. The mechanism was complicated. This could take a while.

Jack was beginning to stand straighter, reaching to the wall for support when another shot rang out and he lost his footing entirely. He began to fall to the floor, pain consuming his back and making it almost impossible for him to remain standing but he couldn't leave Mac unprotected now. He was sure the kid was yelling his name through the gag and Jack did the one thing he didn't want to do: he grabbed into the kid to keep himself from falling to the ground. He latched into one of his shoulders and arms and he heard Mac crying out from the extra weight pulling on his more than strained limbs. Jack apologized in his mind for having to cause his partner more pain, but it was the only way to remain upright and to still act as a shield for him.

He wasn't sure if he'd be able to remain upright when the next bullet reached him given how his vision was starting to darken around the edges. His legs were trembling and he rested his forehead on Mac's chest, breathing heavily. The bullets might have slammed into his back, but his chest felt tight and taking deep breaths was out of the question. His eyes were closed, his only focus now was maintaining his position so Mac wouldn't get hit by any shot, at least he had a vest, Mac didn't. Somewhere in the back of his mind and through the sound of his blood pumping in his ears, he registered that the seconds had ticked by and he hadn't felt any more pain beyond the now existing agony at his back. He was talking to himself, repeating the same words over and over again in his mind.

' _Stay up, stay up, stay up, stay up…_ '

He almost missed his partner's body shaking, trying to call his attention or Cage's hands on his shoulder.

"… it Jack. I got it. You can let go now" his hearing came back suddenly and Jack snapped out of the small trance he had fallen into. He turned his head from Mac's chest to glance at Cage and asked in a husked tone.

"Did you get it?"

"Yes Jack. It's over" she answered.

"The riffle's not aimed at Mac?"

"No. Jack…" she held his gaze "You can let go" he heaved a sigh, a painful one.

"Good" and then he collapsed on the floor.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

When he felt Jack slam into him with a grunt, Mac realized what his friend had done and his mind had gone into panic mode quicker than if the bullet had actually reached him. He could see his partner was wearing a vest, but that didn't take away the fear of him getting seriously hurt. What if the rifle had armor piercing rounds? Even if it hadn't, the distance wasn't much and a bullet that close, even stopped by a bulletproof vest, could do a lot of damage.

"Urgh!" when the second bullet hit him, Mac felt like crying.

' _Jack! JACK!_ ' but when he started to yell, only a muffled sound could be heard. Stupid gag! Stupid Murdoc!

Cage was there too, looking around the device, trying to find a way to dismantle it and stop it. Jack had spurred her to work faster and Mac wanted to tell her to look for the wire that pulled on the trigger but he had no way of doing it, and no time. Jack had just turned around to look at him when another shot rang out and he almost fell to the ground.

Maybe out of instinct or just sheer stubbornness Jack had reached out to the only thing available to him to hang on. Unfortunately, that thing was him and the moment his partner's weight was added to his own, he felt his shoulders screaming in agony and the cuffs cutting into his wrists even more. He felt his left wrist get pulled out of place, dislocated and he screamed.

Again, the tape around his mouth didn't let him shout out properly and he found he couldn't breath fast enough through his nose. He was getting dizzy again but he'd be damned if he lost consciousness now. Jack was doing everything he could to protect him from the shots while Cage worked on the machine, so Mac would do everything he could to stay awake until he was sure his partner would be okay.

When Jack rested his head on his chest, Mac wanted to slow his breathing so his chest wouldn't move that much but it was kind of hard not to. When the time kept going and the next bullet was imminent, Mac braced himself for the pain his partner was about to feel, but the next second came and went and no shot was fired. He looked up, beyond Jack and saw Cage taking a hold of the rifle and putting it down on the floor.

"Got it!" she shouted and came forward to help them.

Mac tried to get his partner's attention because it was clear he hadn't got the message, shaking him some but Jack didn't look up. It took Cage standing right next to him and shaking his shoulder for Jack to acknowledge her.

"I got it Jack. I got it. You can let go now" she said.

"Did you get it?" Jack's voice was low and pained. Mac winced when he heard it.

"Yes Jack. It's over" Cage insisted.

"The riffle's not aimed at Mac?" and Mac almost wanted to roll his eyes. Almost. Trust his partner to always think about him first.

"No, Jack. You can let go" Jack breathed heavily.

"Good" and then he collapsed on the floor.

Mac grunted when the extra weight was lifted off his body, but he instantly started shouting through the gag again because he needed to know if Jack was alright. Cage had crouched down to help him, but Jack shook his head.

"Mac, get Mac first" he ordered and let his head rest on the floor.

Cage stood up and began to work on freeing him. She had announced through her comms that they had found Mac and there was one agent down. The other teams would be with them soon. She picked the lock on his handcuffs and Mac winced when his dislocated left wrist was released. When his right one was also freed, he fell to the floor.

Cage helped him ease his fall, but his body still hurt like hell when it was released from its holding position. His shoulders were on fire, his legs felt like jelly, his wrists were throbbing and his head hurt like hell. He wanted nothing more that to lay down and just pass out from exhaustion, but he reached up and ripped the tape from his mouth, wincing at the sting it left behind.

"Jack!" his voice sounded raw and he cleared his throat while he dragged himself closer to his partner "Jack, you okay?"

Jack looked to his left and wanted to reassure the scared looking blond that he was alright but, the truth was, he couldn't breathe. His chest was moving, rapidly, but he felt like no oxygen was making its way into his lungs. He started to fumble with the straps on his vest, needing to take the weight off his chest but his movements were uncoordinated.

"Can't breathe" he gasped and then felt a pair of small hands helping him unstrap the vest. Cage.

"Jack?" Mac's voice sounded uncertain. He had seen Jack hurt before, countless times since they met in the dessert, but it never failed to scare him whenever he got hurt. He knew it was irrational, specially in their line of work, but Jack always held that aura of healthiness and life so much that Mac thought him invincible, much like a little kid sees his father as a superhero. So when he got hurt, it rattled him, made him think about the fear of loosing him. He shook his head, there was no time for pessimistic thoughts like that.

When the vest was finally removed, Jack was able to take a proper breath even if it still hurt him. He was positive he must have had broken ribs at the very least. A long mass of blond hair hovered over his vision, calling for his attention.

"Jack, can you move?" it was Cage, she was trying to assess how much damage the bullets had caused.

"How's Mac?" he asked back, completely ignoring her question.

"I'm fine Jack" the other agent answered but it was clear to Jack, by the sound of his voice, that he wasn't.

"You're not" he whispered. Finding it hard to keep his eyes open and alert. Mac huffed, letting out what could pass as a chuckle and dragged himself closer to Jack.

"Says the guy who just took three bullets on his back" Jack turned his head to stare at Mac, taking in every bruise and stain of blood.

"Says the guy who was kidnapped, beaten, drugged and also shot at" Jack countered. At this point, Mac hadn't been able to remain sitting, so he had also slumped the rest of the way to the floor, his left wrist resting on his stomach, head on the ground and eyes staring at his older partner. They were both laying down, trying to stay awake through pain and exhaustion while Cage hovered over them, checking for major injuries and talking to Matty over comms, requesting medical assistance fast.

The rest of the team were making their way back to them, letting them know that the rest of the place was empty and there was no sign of Murdoc anywhere. At the mention of the name, Mac's eyes searched Cage's as he felt there was an important piece of information he was missing. Something about him being just a bait… wait!

"Cage. Murdoc. He… not me. Phoenix" he mumbled, what little adrenalin he'd had now leaving him to try and make sense of what his brain wanted to say. When Jack heard his young partner's interrupted speech, he glanced at him worriedly. He might have been the one recently injured by taking bullets to his vest, but Mac had just spent the last 12 hours at the mercy of a psychopath and the signs of exhaustion were clear in his face.

"Mac, buddy, what are you talking about?" he asked, moving his arm to take a hold of Mac's shoulder. Mac locked eyes with his partner now.

"Jack. It's important. Murdoc. Murdoc wants…" he was beginning to fade and he knew it. His vision was blurring and it was out of focus, the world was spinning before his eyes. He felt as if someone had drugged him again and he didn't want to pass out just to wake up chained to another wall, alone. He found his partner's eyes again "Jack?" he asked in a small voice.

Jack had noticed Mac's distress and he made a monumental effort to get his body to cooperate with him. He had been laying on his back, but he wanted to get closer to Mac, to reassure him that Murdoc wasn't around so he'd gathered his strength and rolled on his side, almost screaming at the motion but quickly swallowing the sound. He didn't want to add to Mac's distress.

"I'm here Mac. 's okay. You'll be okay" he got no answer though. Mac had already closed his eyes and Cage stepped forward to check.

"He's out" she announced. Jack closed his eyes as well and let his forehead hit the floor, he couldn't keep holding how much his back hurt and having changed position hadn't done him any good. He was shaking now, breathing coming in short gasps again. He moaned "Jack?" Cage asked, coming closer to him now "Come on Jack, stay awake" and he wanted to, he really did, but he couldn't. He closed his eyes though he remained conscious.

Conscious enough to hear Cage asking for an ETA on the ambulance, to hear the Phoenix agents waving the medical personnel over to them. Conscious enough to mumble Mac's name when he wanted them to take care of him first and then conscious enough to feel himself being loaded into a gurney. There was a collar strapped around his neck and even if he'd had his eyes open, he wouldn't have been able to look around searching for someone to answer his most important question. So he called out.

"Cage" his voice was low, he was about to just drop "Cage" when she answered and put her hand on his shoulder, he asked "Mac?"

"He's already on his way to Phoenix Medical"

After that, he really didn't care to stay awake.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

When he woke up, it took Mac a few seconds to recognize where he was and he never thought he'd say this, and he would forever deny it, but he was glad to be at medical.

Much like the last time he'd woken up here, Cage was sitting beside his bed, instead of his partner and that just served to spur him into action and begin to sit up. When he put weight on his injured wrist, which he noted was wrapped in a semi hard cast, he grunted and quickly leaned on his right one. As long as he wasn't drugged to the gills, he wasn't seriously hurt. His shoulders burned, yes, the bullet graze stung too, but those weren't reason enough to keep him in bed.

"Wow, Mac, I think you should take it slow" Cage cautioned, standing up from the chair. He shook his head.

"I'm fine now" he answered, voice still laced with sleep and place his feet on the floor, sighing at the fact that he was wearing a hospital gown "Where's Jack?" if is partner hadn't been here waiting for him to wake up, then he must have been really hurt or… worse.

"He's in the room next door" and before he could ask his next question, Cage hurried to add "And he's going to be fine. Couple of broken ribs, bruised kidney but no internal damage. He'll be sore for a while and he's been restricted to bed rest. Mandatory. Matty had to actually threaten him to keep him there knowing that you were here" Mac let out a sigh. If Jack had been already arguing with Matty, then he really was better than worse.

"Thanks" he said "And… you know… thanks for getting me out" he added, sitting on the edge of the bed and forgetting momentarily about his mission of storming into the next room. Cage suited him, with that focused gaze she uses when she's analyzing someone.

"Are you okay? For real" he heaved a sigh.

"I'm… fine, physically. I've had worse you know?" he said, not quite meeting her eyes. She wasn't exactly the person he'd like to open up to, but he guessed she could just read him open if she tried hard enough. She was that good at her job.

"But…?" she prompted.

"But, it's Murdoc so…"

"So not entirely okay" she answered for him, a small smile on her lips. He returned the smile and stood up from the bed.

"I'll go check on Jack" he announced before stepping out of his room and opening the next door over.

He didn't care much about what time it was, although he assumed it must have been somewhere in the middle of the night. The lights of the hallway were turned to the lowest and there was only a bedside lamp turned on in Jack's room. He wasn't sleeping though, and neither was Riley who was sitting on the chair, her feet on top of Jack's bed. They had been talking about something but stopped their conversation as soon as Mac walked in.

Riley was the first to react, standing up and coming to him to greet him with a hug.

"Are you okay?" she asked, genuine concern on her face and although he was tired of the question, he gave her an honest answer.

"I've been better but I'm fine, really" and she hugged him again. Then he walked closer to Jack's bed "Hey Jack" he said, suddenly feeling very guilty.

"Hey bud" and there was an awkward silence.

Riley excused herself, saying it was time to head home and kissed the both of them good night. When they were left alone, Mac stared at his partner. Jack was laying on the bed, a bunch of pillows behind the left side of his back so he was almost resting on his side. There were no superficial marks to tell that his partner was even injured at all, but Mac knew better. The fact that the man was barely moving, even just to breathe, was sign enough of how hurt he really was.

"I'm sorry" he blurted out. Jack looked at him like he was crazy.

"Now I don't even need to ask if you're alright because it's obvious you're still high as a kite" Mac narrowed his eyes and Jack kept talking "What on earth are you sorry for, pal?"

"Are you serious?" Mac asked, somewhat dumfounded himself "You just got shot three times because of me" Jack laughed bitterly and had to stifle a moan afterwards.

"So I got shot. Big deal! I get shot at on a daily basis" Jack said, for all intents and purposes he sounded perfectly normal, like every day Jack "And I didn't get shot _because_ of you, I got shot _instead_ of you so that would mean me just doing my job and being very good at it" he finished, leaving Mac speechless for a moment "And you better park your ass right here on this chair before you fall and make a fool outta ya" he added, noticing the pale tone on Mac's face. The blond agent started walking but he didn't go for the chair.

"Is it okay if I sit here?" he asked, indicating the edge of Jack's bed and not wanting to cause unnecessary pain by moving the bed too much.

"Whatever suits you as long as you sit down" and so he did. Mac fidgeted with the hem of his gown before finding his partner's eyes and trying to convey how serious his next question was.

"Are you okay Jack?" the older man would've liked to joke his way around the question. Usually humor was the best way to keep his friend from giving into the dark recesses of his big brain, but somehow the trick wasn't working this time. So he regarded seriously as well.

"I'm gonna be fine Mac. It hurts like hell but it's nothing I can't handle" Mac nodded and let out a sigh "You on the other hand… Man, you're not looking too bright. Wanna talk about it?" Mac pinched the bridge of his nose.

"My wrist's the worst. Other than that, I'm okay"

"Aha, and the killer headache?" Mac smiled.

"And the killer headache"

They remained in silence for a while, almost so much that Mac thought his partner had fallen asleep but then his voice broke it with a question that made Mac's stomach drop.

"So what did Murdoc want with you?" Jack saw his partner paling even more.

"Oh God" Mac exclaimed, standing quickly from the bed and getting a dizzy spell as a result. How could he have forgotten?

"Mac? What's wrong? Mac?" the younger of the two had to steady himself against the wall and Jack didn't hesitate to press the call button the nurse had place near his hand.

"Phoenix. He didn't want me Jack, I was a distraction. He wanted to breach Phoenix" right then the night shift nurse came into the room asking what was wrong and Mac was ordered to sit down. He only complied because he didn't want to end falling to the floor and jostling his injuries.

Jack would've liked to sprint from the bed and help his partner, but as it was he could barely move without seeing stars dancing around his vision. He explained the nurse Mac had gotten worked up about remembering something from the 12 hours he'd spent kidnapped and in the hands of Murdoc. Once he had calmed down enough, he started making more sense.

"Murdoc kidnapped me as a distraction. Said that while you were all worried looking for me, he'd have someone getting a hold of some files, something about people only Phoenix knew where to find"

"We have to call Matty" Jack said and the medical personnel told them they would contact their boss for them.

"Agent MacGyver, you should return to your room. You need to rest" the nurse insisted after the message had been delivered to Matty and she'd assured them that she would investigate and see if there had been a breach.

"I'm fine, I can stay here"

"Come on Mac, you look like you could use a nap" his partner intervened. It was true, Mac felt exhausted and he admitted to himself that a nap sounded great right about now and yet, he didn't want to leave his partner's side just yet.

"Jack, I just spent the last 12 hours of my life with Murdoc. I don't fancy being alone right now" he said, gaze fixed on Jack. The older man got the message and pleaded his case with the nurse. After some argument from the woman, they had agreed Mac could stay for another hour or until Jack fell asleep himself. The younger agent let out a sigh of relief when the woman walked out of the room and he and Jack were left alone once again.

"I'm still sorry, you know?" Mac said, leaning against the back of the chair and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"And I was still doing my job, so I'm _not_ sorry"

"Are we cool then?" Mac asked, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Yeah man, we're cool"

They fist bumped and settled in. There wasn't much talk and Jack eventually drifted off to sleep.

As much as sleep was also appealing to Mac, once the nurse had bossed him into his own room, he couldn't bring himself to stop thinking about what Murdoc could've taken from Phoenix and there was also another question nagging at the back of his mind. How had Murdoc taken _him_ in the first place? He didn't remember much from before waking up in that room and he clearly remembered getting home at some point after he and Jack had parted ways on Saturday night.

It was certainly disconcerting how easily people found him at his place. Was it really time to move? He didn't really want to think about leaving his grandfather's house. He sighed.

When the nurse woke him up in the morning to take his vitals and write them on the chart, he realized he had fallen asleep at some point and he was beginning to ask how his partner was doing when a not so happy looking Mathilda Weber entered his room.

"Oh, you're awake Blondie" she said. She eyed him up and down in the bed, almost deciding if he was healthy enough or not. She hadn't had time to stop by and see her recently recovered agent because the news of a possible breach had gathered all her attention.

"Hi, Matty" he said, sitting up in bed. Noticing how serious she looked, he didn't waste time "Is everything okay?"

"Depends on how you define 'okay'" she answered and paused before adding "Murdoc got the files he wanted"

Mac swallowed and felt guilt crush into him all over again. If he hadn't let Murdoc kidnap him, he wouldn't have been used as a distraction to breach the Foundation.

"Oh quit the sad kicked puppy face Blondie. This isn't on you. What it _is_ on you is helping find the son of a bitch so we can put him on lockdown again. As soon as Dalton is ready to move, I want you both on his trail again. Nobody infiltrates the Phoenix _and_ messes with my agents and gets away with it. Are we clear?" she demanded.

"Yes, ma'am" Mac said with conviction. When she was about to leave the room she turned around and regarded him with a softer expression.

"Are you okay Mac?" she asked. He gave her a small smile.

"I'm fine" he said and he meant it.

She left and he was once again alone, already planning out the best way to track Murdoc down until Jack was good enough to go with him on the man hunt. The assassin had gone un-detained long enough already and he wasn't willing to keep letting that happen.

Murdoc would fall, one way or another and sooner rather than later.

 **THE END – FINITO – TERMINADO**

 **So, did you like it? At least enjoyed it? I really hope you did and please send a review and tell me what you think. That would be much appreciated and encouraging.**

 **Also, if anyone has any ideas or requests, I could use the fuel to start writing one shots again… Until next time!**


	22. Are we clear?

**Oh boy! It seems like forever since I posted anything new. I gotta say I got caught up with the end of the school year and then work and well… life. But I've been wanting to do a tag for this episode for quite a while now and finally I managed to do it. I really loved this episode and the little snippets of their lives back in the army. There's just so much potential in those for making fanfic stories…**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys like it and remember to please leave a review and tell me your thoughts about it. I'm pretty happy with how this one turned up, so I hope you are too.**

 **Summary: AU tag to episode 12 "Mac+Jack" If you've seen the episode, you know what the story is gonna be like. So, it says AU because I took some liberty to add a few things here and there and, also, I took some liberty with the dialogue.**

 **Chapter 22: Are we clear?**

MacGyver walked away further into town ignoring the calls of his currently annoying as hell overwatch. He knew there had to be at least one IED hidden in this town or they wouldn't have been sent all the way here due to suspicious activity in the first place. If Jack wasn't up to finishing the job, _he_ was.

He continued to roam around the place, deciding to investigate some less crowded alleys and when the few people scattered there started to walk away and he found himself alone, he began wondering if this was actually a good idea. He glanced back quickly, making sure no one was behind him. Suddenly his back felt unbelievably unprotected and he wished Jack was around to quell that feeling. He may not know the man for long, but one thing was clear from the beginning: he was good at his job. More than good, actually. Not that he would admit that to the older man any time soon. Shaking the feeling away though, he kept going. He wasn't about to head back with the tail between his legs for Jack to gloat about how right he was and how wrong Mac had been. He kept walking.

When he glanced down and saw the IED hidden behind some dumpsters, he immediately set to work. Yes! He'd been right! Suck that Dalton! But when he was about to start his inspection of the device, rough hands grabbed him by the uniform and slammed him against the wall.  
Seriously, Jack? He thought, you don't have to be so- but as he turned around his eyes widened in shock. Instead of finding his overwatch about to chew him one, he got face to face with four armed rebels that were waiving their weapons dangerously at him and speaking in rushed and harsh tones of a language Mac hadn't had the chance to learn one bit yet. His heart hammered in his chest and he instinctively brought his hands up in a surrender gesture. It's not like he had any weapons of his own to fight back and the odds of getting away unscathed weren't really on his favor.

When one of the men approached, he took an involuntary step back but that didn't stop the other man from taking a hold of the shoulder strap of his bag and sending him crashing down to the ground, hard, where he was made to kneel while the man continued to pull on his bag until they took it off him.

Mac chanced a look around, hoping against hope to get a glimpse of Jack hidden behind some cover, ready to bust his ass out of trouble, but he didn't see anything and all his roaming eyes got him was a backhanded slap to the face. That got his attention back pretty quickly and he blinked against the dizziness the incredibly hard slap had given him. Soon after that, he found himself removed of his helmet in a non-too gentle manner but then he was left kneeling on the ground while the men walked a few paces away to discuss something, probably what to do with him. He saw the opportunity to reach for his chest with one hand and press on his radio to call for Jack, he didn't necessarily had to talk because at this distance, the men were sure to hear him, but at least Jack would hear the static of his radio coming to live and then at least think Mac was calling him to come over to him. Either way. He had to try.

He only managed to lower his hand to his upper chest when a shout startled him and he saw one of the men coming back to him, pointing his weapon directly at his head. He was screaming something and Mac immediately put his hand back up. The man kept screaming though and the situation was quickly escalating out of control (not that he'd had any control over it to begin with) when the rest of the men decided to approach too. All the screaming and muzzles pointed his way made him nervous as hell and his hands started to slightly tremble.

"Look, I can just walk away and-" he tried to help his case only to have the butt of a weapon crashing painfully to the side of his head. Mac lost his balance and the strength behind the hit send him crashing all the way to the ground, face down and scrunched in pain. He brought his hand to his forehead and found a small amount of blood coming out of a tear on his skin. He would have some spectacular bruising the day after that. But that was the least of his worries when the man that had hit him pointed the right side of the weapon back at him and another one set a foot on his back, pushing down, so he would remain unmoving. Mac's breathing picked up in pace. He wasn't going to deny that he was scared. Somehow, when he enlisted, he wasn't thinking on the possibility of getting captured by the enemy. Up until now he hadn't even considered the possibility of getting shot. He'd never gotten shot before and the thought that he was about to sent his hammering heart into panic mode. He was beginning to regret ever signing his name on the enlisting form when two clear shots rang out and Mac jerked expecting the burning sensation everyone who's ever been shot always described and, at the same time, wondering how was he even still alive to be expecting that. But then what he felt was the weight of a man falling on top of him, constricting his lungs more than they already were and he began panting for breaths. Then the voice reached his ears.

"You okay there, Angus?" the sound of Jack's voice through his radio brought such a wave of relieve that Mac had to contain himself not to sob right then and there "Angus!?" oh, the voice was pissed and maybe, possibly, worried?

With some difficulty, Mac began to extract himself from under the dead weight pinning him down, refusing to acknowledge the man's empty eyes and slowly he crawled away from the now four dead men on the ground. He took in the angle of the fallen bodies and estimated Jack to be somewhere to his right and when he looked around he found him with his head sticking out of a building on one of the higher floors. When he finally managed to take a deep breath, he brought his hand up and pressed it on his radio.

"Did you just take out four guys with two bullets?" his voice was wavy and subdued.

"Yeah I'm trying to conserve ammo. Now, we need to get on the same page kid and I mean right now, that is if you wanna keep breathing: next time you wait for me to take my position before you go scampering off like that, do you hear me?

"I… I didn't think you were coming with me" Mac said and then added "Thanks"

"Yeah, you're welcome. Now hurry up and disarm that damn thing" But Mac didn't move. His eyes were fixed on the closest figure staring back at him with dead eyes and a shudder ran down his spine. That could've been me, he thought. He would've stayed like that for hours, the gruesome sight getting a strong hold of him but Jack's hard voice cut through the fog in his brain.

"Mac! Bomb. Disarm. Now"

Mac wiped his hands on his pants and retrieved his pack. He kneeled in front of the almost forgotten IED and took a deep breath. He needed to concentrate now. The only problem was: his hands were shaking. He couldn't take care of the device with trembling arms and hi fisted his hands and closed his eyes out of frustration. This was his job, he should be able to do it under any circumstances.

"Hey, any chance you can hurry it up?" asked Jack and Mac immediately tensed and started looking around, sure that there were more enemies coming his way. But Jack's voice put him at ease "Relax, I'm just hungry as hell and I'd like to get back to base before all the food disappears" Mac let out the breath he'd been holding and he latched into the normalcy of Jack's comment. He talked as if nothing had happened and they hadn't even fought before. It was that strange feeling of familiarity that brought stillness to his hands and he was able to work quickly and efficiently after that.

"Alright, I'm done" he announced, standing up and looking up at Jack. It didn't go unnoticed by him that his knees felt tired and week, but he ignored the feeling in favor of shouldering his pack and getting ready to leave.

"Copy that. I'm heading down there. DO NOT move a muscle until I get there, capish?" Jack ordered, this time Mac wasn't going to disobey again.

"Yeah, copy that"

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Mac didn't dignify the comment with an answer, but a small smile began playing on his lips, up until the moment he looked down to retrieve his helmet and glanced at the fallen bodies.

 **MCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCGMCG**

The moment MacGyver turned his back on him and started walking away, disobeying not only a direct order from him but the call home from base itself, Jack let out a series of indecent cussing that would've made the strongest of soldiers blush at hearing them.

That little shit, he thought, is gonna get himself killed, and then I'm gonna kick his ass for it. Just, who did he think he was? Jack didn't care if the kid was the best EOD on the planet, he was just a freaking arrogant kid who didn't know any better in life. At least not here, in this god forsaken place. There's a reason Jack was older and more experienced that him and he didn't come all this way just to get killed and sent home in a pine box when he was merely days away from saying goodbye to the place for ever. Oh, no. Uh uh. Not him.

And then Jack stopped his rambling when he noticed he couldn't see MacGyver anymore. He growled and tightened his grip on his weapon, starting in the direction one young specialist Angus MacGyver had taken. It didn't take him long to spot him again making his way towards some back alleys of the town. Jack started looking around, making sure no one was following them and trying to keep enough distance to be able to use his sniper rifle in case any trouble arose.

MacGyver seemed oblivious to the world, looking for a blasted IED that might not even be there at all. After all, they had just spent hours in town looking under every possible rock and there was just no reason to keep- oh, great, he found one, Jack thought, swallowing his words and getting even more annoyed at his EOD tech for being right. Seeing as the kid would spend some time working on the device because, come on, he was the slowest EOD ever! He knew he had to find a better position to place overwatch because he couldn't cover every angle from here. He always preferred high places that gave him an advantaged look over the ground and he found the perfect spot a few meters away. The only problem was, he would have to let Mac out of his sight long enough for him to reach the place. Jack looked between Mac and the high ground advantage point and internally growled before moving quickly in the direction of the building.

This is why you way for your overwatch to take position before you can do your own job, damn it!, he told Mac in his head. He didn't want to risk calling on the radio when the kid was starting to work on an IED and startle him when he obviously wasn't expecting it.

Jack walked with a purpose, as quickly as he could towards the building from where he'd be able to watch Mac's six, but he made sure to avoid actually running because he didn't want to attract unnecessary attention to himself. Bringing attention to himself meant bringing attention to Mac, since everyone knew soldiers didn't get sent alone to the field, and by field he meant the whole goddamn country.

Jack finally reached the place but had to take his time inspecting it before heading right in, or he could be walking into a cell and then his day would end up being more than shitty.

So far, so good, he thought upon closer inspection and he found his way in and up the stairs. He wasn't seen by anyone because there was no one there to see him which, instead of making him feel better, it made a knot appear in his stomach that hadn't been there before. It was a knot of apprehension. Mac better be working on that thing by now, but when he reached the spot he had chosen from the ground the image that greeted him wasn't one of his young tech crouching over the IED, brown furrowed in concentration, it was the imagine of his young tech kneeling on the ground with a surrender gesture and being held at gunpoint by none other than four almost completely hooded figures. Jack swore and felt his stomach drop at the sight. He quickly set about placing his rifle in the right position and adjusting the scope to get a better and closer look at what was happening down there. He distinguished Mac quickly enough and then the four men.

They were a few paces away from the kid, talking amongst themselves. Jack estimated the level of danger of the situation, judging from the harsh movements of the men and their irate expressions. He soon came to the conclusion that these men meant business and he better dealt with them before they got the chance to do anything Jack would regret for the rest of his life.

Goddamn it, I shouldn't have let him walk away, he reprimanded himself. Some experienced soldier he was if he let a kid rile him up that much that he put his ego over his job.

Jack cast a glance back at MacGyver and assessed that he hadn't been hurt, at least not visibly, but what caught his attention was the kid's face. In the short amount of time that they had been partnered together, Jack had seen a handful of expressions in the kid's eyes. He'd seen arrogance, joy, concentration, worry and, yes, sadness, sometimes, but he had never seen fear. Not like the one showing on his face right now. Well, that didn't sit well with Jack Dalton. So he moved the rifle again to point it at the group of men, intent on dropping them but just when he was about to pull the trigger, something changed. One of them shouted and walked purposefully towards Mac, the others following behind. The man's shouting and stance was more than threatening and Mac was starting to say something when the son of a bitch hit him on the side of the face with his weapon and the boy slumped on the ground. Jack bared his teeth and took his aim again. Seeing another man bringing his foot down on Mac's back was the last encouragement he needed before taking aim and, with scary precision, he shot two bullets. The men had been in line and in pairs, so the bullets tore through the neck of the first one to end up embedded in the second one. And just like that, the threat had been neutralized. Mac ended up half buried under one of the bodies and for a scary second, he didn't move, and Jack thought maybe the guy waving the gun around his head had managed to take a shot before Jack took him out. No, no, no, no, he thought. If there was anything worse than going home in a pine box was sending someone that was supposed to be under your protection home in a pine box too.

"You okay there, Angus?" he asked, finally able to use his radio, his heart jumping in his chest when he got no immediate answer "Angus!?" again, there was no quick answer but Jack saw the younger man starting to move and making his way from underneath the dead weigh on his back. When the kid finally got to his feet, he locked eyes with him and graced him with a shaky voice.

"Did you just take out four guys with two bullets?" Some anger crept back into his own voice, masking just how worried he had actually been.

"Yeah I'm trying to conserve ammo. Now, we need to get on the same page kid and I mean right now, that is if you wanna keep breathing: next time you wait for me to take my position before you go scampering off like that, do you hear me?

"I… I didn't think you were coming with me" stubborn, stubborn, stubborn, Jack kept thinking and then he heard Mac's low expression on gratitude "Thanks"

"Yeah, you're welcome. Now hurry up and disarm that damn thing"

But the kid didn't, in fact hurry. He stood there, eyes fixed on the fallen bodies on the ground and his expression showing the fear Jack had seen just moments before.

"Mac! Bomb. Disarm. Now"

That did it. The boy walked over to the IED and kneeled in front of it. But that's all he did. Jack made a sweep around the perimeter and then focused the scope on the kid. He couldn't see his face well enough from this angle but he caught the trembling of his hands. A pang of sympathy ran over him and he sighed. He had read the kid's file so he knew there hadn't been any direct threats to his live during the time of his tour, that is if you weren't counting the hundreds of IED's he had dealt with but somehow, bombs didn't seem to scare the guy much, not like they did Jack at least. So he knew he must have been experiencing some kind of adrenalin crash. Jack decided to help a little.

"Hey, any chance you can hurry it up?" apparently that was the wrong thing to say, because all he did was cause the kid to feel paranoid and start looking around like crazy "Relax, I'm just hungry as hell and I'd like to get back to base before all the food disappears" eventually, Mac managed to disarm the thing.

"Copy that. I'm heading down there. DO NOT move a muscle until I get there, capish?" and then Jack couldn't help teasing the guy when he actually agreed to stay put.

When he reached him, Jack made sure all the rebels were actually dead before stepping closer to MacGyver who, once more, had his eyes fixed on the bodies. Upon closer inspection, Jack saw the blood still coming out of the wound on his head and he cringed while fishing a rag out of his many pockets. That must have been one hell of a blow, he thought, handing the rag to Mac.

"Keep pressure on that" he ordered and bent down to retrieve the discarded helmet "And maybe keep that on next time. Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"No" Mac answered quietly, eyes still fixed on the men. Jack noticed and stepped in his line of vision.

"You sure? No nausea, dizziness, bruises. They didn't do anything else?" he insisted.

"What? No, Jack. I'm fine" finally Mac was brought out of his stupor and he answered Jack's questions somewhat annoyed "Let's just get out of here" he finished, beginning to walk out of the alley and fastening his helmet back on.

"Oh, so now you wanna get out of town. Wonder what made you change your mind" Jack teased, partly to annoy him and partly because he was still pissed at having been dismissed in the first place. Mac rolled his eyes at him.

"Whatever, let's just go"

"Now, now. You listen to me, Angus-"

"Jack! I wanna get out of here!" Mac snapped, Jack was a little taken aback. It wasn't everyday Mac raised his voice like that. He was stubborn as hell and he tended to disobey orders, but he never raised his voice like that to anyone. But the older man wouldn't be deterred. He squared his shoulders and walked the rest of the distance to him.

"MacGyver! You better listen to me and you listen to me good. What we're doing here is not a game, we have rules and protocol in place to avoid situations like the one today. You think this is the worst that's happened to you? What about the soldiers that don't make it, uh? The one's that are not so lucky to get away? What about the ones captured and tortured for information? Do you wanna become one of them too?" he was starting to raise his voice as well "Because that's where you're headed if you don't start treating your orders with respect. That's the reason they're there. That's the reason I'm here! To make sure you don't end up six feet under or worse" Jack ended up catching his breath and running a hand down his face. He looked at the younger man and felt his heart ache for the first time because of him.

Mac had a startled expression on his face, like a deer caught in headlights and his eyes were shining just enough to let Jack know that kid had gotten the point. And right then Jack remembered just how much of a kid Mac actually was. He was reckless and impulsive and he had a brilliant mind of his own that with no guidance could actually end up six feet under or worse. And suddenly it struck him: Mac had no guidance. He didn't talk much with other soldiers, didn't need a training officer anymore and, worst of all, his previous one had died on the job. Whatever free time they got, the kid spent it building things and working on little projects of this or that and he only ever got talkative when Jack was around. Now the older man understood the kind of responsibility that he had over his shoulders that didn't end at just keeping Mac alive on the field. But how was he going to help the young man if he was going home so soon? From that moment on, the days left to go back home began passing quickly instead of torturously slow.

Jack put a hand on Mac's shoulder.

"That's what _I'm_ here for. Alright? To keep your skinny but safe and sound but in order to do that, I need you to trust me enough to follow my lead and to freaking wait for me to take my post before you can do your own work. Are we clear?" Mac swallowed and looked down at the ground for a second before meeting Jack's eyes again.

"Clear" Jack smiled and, in turn, so did Mac.

"Atta boy. Now we can get out of here"

As the years went by, that day would always be remembered by the partners as the first time Jack actually stepped into the role he plays in Mac's life now. And although it wasn't the last time Mac disobeyed an order, Jack made sure never to let him do stupid things without him there to do those stupid things with him.

 **THE END – FINITO – TERMINADO**

 **There you have it! I couldn't help the little bit of fluff at the end of the chapter.**

 **Please, please! Don't make me beg but pleeeeease, leave a review? Thanks!**


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